All new Dubai mosques will be eco-friendly

All new Dubai mosques will be eco-friendly Ahmed Shaaban / 18 August 2013 All mosques to be built in Dubai starting next year will be environment-friendly. Dubai’s Awqaf and Minors Affairs Foundation (AMAF) secretary-general Tayeb Al Rais said the first of these eco-mosques, which is also the first in the Middle East, was expected to be completed and opened in the first quarter of next year, with some 60 per cent of the work already finished. “We do want to make all mosques built in the emirate in the future power- and water-saving, and help reduce harmful gas emissions from the air-conditioners.” The new eco-mosques would reduce water consumption by 20 per cent and electricity by 25 per cent, he said. “All construction work at the mosque, named ‘Khalifa, the Merchant’, is being done according to the set schedule.” Al Rais said the Dh22-million mosque’s 25-metre-long minaret was now completed with work continuing on external decoration and the internal finish. The utility buildings and power station attached to the mosque had been completed. “The mosque, to be the biggest in the emirate, is being built in the Garhoud area…and can accommodate 3,500 worshippers.” The eco-mosque was being constructed in a total area of 105,000 square feet, he added. “Solar panels shall be used in heating ablution water, as well as imam accommodation and other utilities.” The mosque was equipped with a technique for recycling and purifying ablution water, and using it for agriculture work and the toilets. “Eco materials have been used in the construction of the mosque to be in line with the renewable power resources and heat insulation system.” The mosque was also using “advanced technology” to curb the use of harmful gases used in air-conditioning, he said. “This strategy is aimed to enhance the performance of these buildings, curb power and water consumption, and boost public health.”  – ahmedshaaban@khaleejtimes.com Taylor Scott International