Conference touts merits of 'green building' for Kuwait

The concept of "green building" is of paramount importance to realizing the goals of sustainable development and protection of the environment, said a Kuwaiti official on Wednesday.
In a speech, opening the third Kuwaiti conference and exhibition on green building, governor of Kuwait Municipality Thabit Al-Mehanna said constructing buildings that take into account environmental considerations helps in saving on electric power and water and other incidental expenses. He said the Municipality has been striving to its best abilities and resources to apply the principle of green building in its approval of constructing projects in the heart of downtown Kuwait City and its immediate suburbs.
For instance he said this principle was amply employed in the building of an environmentally friendly park in the suburb of Yarmouk, promising that more such green projects will be coming soon down the pipeline.
A second speaker at the conference, executive chief of combined services at Kuwait Oil Co. (KOC) Ismail Abdullah, gave a comprehensive overview of KOC's commitment to green building in its projects and services, boasting that the company recently received a prize for its environmental practices from the Arab council of ministers of environmental affairs.
He noted that the worldwide construction business utilizes about 40 percent of the world's raw materials, which comes to about three billion tons annually, in addition to using water and electric power and other incidentals. He expressed his concern that this utilization of resources is bound to produce enormous amounts of pollution and waste that could be averted in a reasonable measure by applying the principle of green building.
Taking part in the conference here which ends tomorrow is a number of government ministires and agencies, including the ministries of electricity and water and Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, in addition to KOC and EPA.