Dubai's New Green Building Code To Cut Energy Costs By 30 Percent

Dubai, United Arab Emirates (AHN) - Dubai's Executive Council's Committee for Green Buildings issued guidelines for the construction of new buildings in an effort to make the new structures more environmentally friendly. Experts say the new buildings will save about 30 percent in energy costs due to revisions in cooling and air-conditioning systems.

UAE Vice President and Prime Minister Shaik Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum said the new green rules will be implemented in three phases in Dubai.

Environmentally friendly measures will go a long way in sustaining a building's operation, said a report for chief executives published October by the Property Working Group of the United Nations Environment Program Finance Initiative.

According to Paul MacNamara, a co-author of the report, by using modern technology that turns off lights in unused sections of multi-floor car parks, it will yield a 40 percent per annum rate of return over the first 10 years.