Sustainability challenges and opportunities in UAE construction industry: An analytical survey
Yousef ALQARYOUTI, Mariam AL SUWAIDI, Raed Mohmood ALKHUWAILDI, Hind KOLTHOUM, Issa YOUSSEF, Mohammed AL IMAM
Abstract. The construction industry in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is facing significant challenges in adopting sustainable practices. This study identifies and categorizes these challenges into four main categories: economic, capacity/professional, social, and technical challenges. 27 challenges were identified in these categories from literature and provided for a survey of the views of 62 industry professionals. The survey results highlight various barriers such as higher initial costs, longer project timelines, insufficient professional training, limited public awareness, and technological integration issues. Addressing these challenges will require a multi-faceted approach, including insurance interventions, increased information and education programs, public awareness campaigns, increased research and development, and improved collaboration and knowledge sharing among stakeholders. The paper concludes with recommendations for future work, emphasizing the need for coordinated efforts to promote sustainable construction in the UAE, thereby contributing to environmental conservation, economic stability, and improved quality of life.
Keywords
Sustainable Construction, Economic Challenges, Professional Challenges, Societal Challenges, Technological Challenges
Published online 2/25/2025, 11 pages
Copyright © 2025 by the author(s)
Published under license by Materials Research Forum LLC., Millersville PA, USA
Citation: Yousef ALQARYOUTI, Mariam AL SUWAIDI, Raed Mohmood ALKHUWAILDI, Hind KOLTHOUM, Issa YOUSSEF, Mohammed AL IMAM, Sustainability challenges and opportunities in UAE construction industry: An analytical survey, Materials Research Proceedings, Vol. 48, pp 1138-1148, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21741/9781644903414-122
The article was published as article 122 of the book Civil and Environmental Engineering for Resilient, Smart and Sustainable Solutions
Content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.
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