Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: According to a press communiqué issued by Gulf Organisation for Research & Development (GORD), its Founding Chairman, Dr Yousef Alhorr, addressed a conference titled “Sustainable Development” at the King Abdulaziz University (KAU) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on December 28, 2016. The conference, the communiqué said, was organised by Saudi Society of Civil Engineering on the occasion of their 10^th Annual Meeting, held under the patronage of Professor Abdulrahman Obaid Al-Youbi, President of King Abdulaziz University.

The communiqué revealed that Dr Alhorr made a presentation during his address, titled “Future Cities in GCC: Lusail City Case Study”, in which he explained the environmental challenges faced by the GCC countries and the impact of this pollution on the health of its inhabitants. Explaining the sustainability approach undertaken by GORD, he, the communiqué said, described the development process of purportedly the first performance-based sustainability assessment system – GSAS, which has been designed specifically keeping in mind the requirements of the GCC region and the vital role it is performing in the development of sustainable cities in the region.

GSAS, the communiqué further revealed, has been implemented in Lusail City at both macro and micro levels, making it a requirement for all buildings to have a minimum 2-star rating, and incentives have been announced to encourage private developers to achieve a higher rating up to 5 GSAS stars rating. The organisation added that the city is self-contained, sustainable and comprehensively planned using smart technologies and a host of mass transit facilities that ensure the inhabitants’ comfort as well as saving natural resources and reducing CO₂ emissions.

Dr Shaher Zahran Zahran, Associate Professor of Civil Engineering Department at KAU and Chairman of the Society, thanked Dr Alhorr for the presentation, and commented on the necessity and prospects of GSAS implementation for the future projects in Saudi Arabia, the communiqué added.

The communiqué also mentioned that Dr Hassan Hossnei Shawli, Assistant Professor, Department of Urban Planning, KAU, spoke on the topic of ‘Renewable Energy: Opportunity and Challenge’.