Dubai to build eco-friendly mosque by 2013

Monday, 16 July 2012 04:45

In 2013 Dubai will have a mosque that will not only be the largest in the emirate but will also be eco-friendly, with energy and water consumption reduced by 15 to 19 per cent

The Awqaf and Minors Affairs Foundation (AMAF) is in the process of reviewing seven bids for the mosque that will be located in Dubai’s Deira.

The 45,000-square-foot mosque will be erected on a 105,000-square-foot landscaped plot at a cost of US$6.8 million and will accommodate nearly 3,500 worshippers.

“This is the first green mosque all the way in the Middle East,” said Tayeb Abdulrahman Al Rais, secretary-general of the AMAF.

“It will become the standard for all the mosques in the future. It should blend in with the environment and be very low maintenance.”

Equipped with the latest, energy efficient air-conditioning and air purity technologies to curb wastage, the mosque will be constructed with eco-friendly materials and avoid the use of asbestos and polystyrene.

The mosque will incorporate green building technologies such as solar panels to heat water for ablution and to supply the Imam's house, water recycling plants to reuse the water for irrigation and a roof garden for heat insulation.