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Construction work of Dubai’s first green mosque to begin soon

Construction of Dubai's first eco-friendly mosque near Clock Tower to begin soon

Staff Report
Published: 14:57 September 12, 2012

Image Credit: Supplied
An artist's impression of the mosque. The mosque will be one of the largest in Dubai set on a footprint of 105,000 square feet with enough space to host roughly 3,500 worshipers.

Dubai: Construction of Dubai’s first green mosque will begin soon as the Awqaf and Minors Affairs Foundation (AMAF) on Wednesday announced that leading UAE contracting company Al Arif Contracting has been awarded the contract for its construction and maintenance.

Construction work on the 45,000 square foot mosque is expected to begin soon and will be completed in 18 months. The mosque, which can accommodate up to 3,500 worshipers, will be located in a 105,000 square foot lot in Bur Saeed area close to the Clock Tower Roundabout in Deira.

“Our teams are gearing up to begin work very soon and aim to complete the project within 18 months. We look forward to leveraging our experience, technical competencies and manpower to deliver a project of exacting standards,” said Hamad Al Arif, managing director of Al Arif Contracting Company.

During construction, priority will be given to provision of green spaces and use of solar panels to generate heated water for the purposes of ablution and the imam’s house. The green building design will also enable the recycling and purifying of ablution water for irrigation and washroom supply.

The project will install thermal insulation, programmed and automatic thermostats, abd suction fans with energy recovery units. It will also use natural light and heat reflective colours especially at the interfaces and roof. A roof garden will be built for heat insulation.

The eco-friendly mosque will additionally aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the air conditioning system and avoid the use of building materials such as asbestos and polystyrene.

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But AMAF won’t stop at this in its goal to adopting green building principles in the emirate. Al Rais said that AMAF will likewise convert a large number of mosques in Dubai into eco-friendly mosques and adopt green building standards as part of Dubai’s sustainable development plans.

The construction of the mosque is in line with Dubai’s recent legislation mandating all new buildings to conform to green standards.

Established 37 years ago, Al Arif Contracting is a subsidiary of Masharie, the private equity arm of Dubai Investments. During the implementation of the project, Al Arif will work closely with a specialist consultant to develop green building standards for the project.

“Al Arif won the contract from among a large number of construction companies that submitted their tender for the pilot project,” Tayeb Al Rais, Secretary General of AMAF, said.