Majid Al Futtaim, the leading shopping malls, communities, retail and leisure pioneer across the Middle East, Africa and Asia, and AECOM, the world’s trusted infrastructure consulting firm, today announced that Mall of Oman was named the Sustainable Project of the Year at the Construction Innovation Awards 2021 held on 29 September 2021 in Dubai, U.A.E.
AECOM was the lead consultant for the mall, providing design, sustainability consulting and construction supervision services.
Mall of Oman opened on 1 September 2021 and spans 140,000 square meters, transforming the commercial landscape of Muscat, Oman’s capital. The mall combines a selection of curated stores that bring the best in retail, leisure, entertainment and dining, creating a new lifestyle destination for residents and tourists.
As one of the leading conglomerates in the MENA region, Majid Al Futtaim, like AECOM, is committed to maintaining best in class sustainable building principles. The shopping malls developer set a minimum standard for its new developments of U.S. Green Building Council LEED Gold rating. With AECOM’s Sustainability Implementation Plan leading the way on the project, the team were able to achieve a LEED Platinum rating, making it the largest building in Oman to be awarded this accolade.
Sustainability features implemented by AECOM include electric vehicle charging areas; 100% shaded surface carpark with photovoltaic panels; a central cooling plant; a reduction of irrigation demand and use of treated sewage effluent for irrigation; reduction of internal water consumption by over 45% and anticipated energy savings of at least 28% from the ASHRAE baseline.
Futher, Mall of Oman is AECOM’s first project in the Middle East to utilize a LEED Dynamic Plaque to report the building’s sustainability efforts (energy, water, waste and indoor air data) in real time when the building is occupied.
Whilst the mall is set to reap the sustainability benefits during operation, sustainability was also at the forefront during construction. More than 82% of construction waste was diverted from landfill, over 40% of the construction materials were locally sourced and approximately 23% of supplies were recycled materials (based on BoQ cost).
Social benefits include the creation of approximately 3,500 jobs, and improved access to leisure activities that support health and well-being, as well as pharmacies and supermarkets.
“At Majid Al Futtaim, we pride ourselves on developing the best destinations for our communities with the least environmental footprint and the highest socioeconomic impact. The award is testament to our unwavering commitment to sustainability and green buildings. As we progress in our Net Positive journey, we continue to embed innovative thinking, cutting-edge approaches to energy and water efficiency to enable us to further contribute to climate change mitigation.” said Brian Schofield, Majid Al Futtaim’s managing director, project management.
AECOM’s Mario Pishiri, managing director for Buildings + Places in the Middle East & Africa, said: “By delivering innovative, pragmatic and resilient sustainable solutions, the collective team has demonstrated that it is possible to develop large-scale, community-enhancing assets with reduced environmental impacts. Mall of Oman can inspire the region’s construction industry to apply more ecologically beneficial solutions to their projects from concept design through to operation, ensuring we can all meet the future with confidence.”