Six initiatives unveiled to strengthen Saudi-Yemeni economic ties

RIYADH: Architects need to shift their focus toward comfortable, climate-friendly designs rather than reaching for the stars with often unsustainable skyscrapers, said Sarah El-Battouty, founder of ECOnsult at a conference in Riyadh. 

According to El-Battouty, who is also a UN Climate Change High-Level Champions global ambassador, buildings are the most used product on Earth, so modern designs must reflect modern needs. 

“Everything is moving forward — machines, products, food, communication — except buildings,” she said.   

ECOnsult, an Egypt-based architecture company specializing in green building and environmental strategy, developed the People’s Brief, which examines the essential components people need in daily living. At the top of that list is comfort. 

“We’re no longer building things to impress. The future is to get the one target that is very difficult to achieve,” she said. 

“I know it sounds simplistic, but it’s really difficult to get people to sleep well, to feel firmer comfort when they’re not too cold or too hot, to predict what is happening in the near future and accommodate the changes in seasonality, and fit all of that into an affordable, accessible, scalable, repeatable building.”    

The next step, she said, is integrating sustainable development goals into people’s homes and using that foundation to design climate-resilient communities. 

Two years ago, ECOnsult introduced the Green Guidelines document, a set of standards for green architecture in rural, low-income communities.   

“No one is sitting and figuring out how they’re going to put these very advanced concepts and apply them to a completely different client… and whether these building technologies are actually scalable in rural communities.”  

El-Battouty emphasized the need for a direct connection between technology, forecasting, and accessible adaptation strategies, making them usable for everyone rather than a select few. 

Today, ECOnsult has developed the first World Green Building Council-certified small villages for green economies in Egypt. 

Five villages have been built so far, housing a total population of 500,000 in energy-, water-, and habitat-saving environments. 

By localizing goals and understanding the client, available technology at small scales has made a tremendous impact, El-Battouty said. 

ECOnsult has also built the first net-zero rural communities project in the Middle East and North Africa region: a mosque. 

Constructed from recycled brick and rammed earth and powered entirely by solar energy, the mosque’s architecture supports 90 percent water recycling, material reduction, construction waste recycling, and the use of local materials. 

Governments worldwide are committing to net-zero pledges, such as Saudi Arabia’s goal of achieving 50 percent renewable power by 2030 on its path to net-zero emissions by 2050. 

Developers in both the architectural and finance sectors are exploring green buildings and energy; however, “why does it have to begin with the most expensive, large-scale?” El-Battouty asked.  

“We are not there yet. We need to perfect this scale. 

“Anyone who works in mitigation or quality assurance can understand that small is beautiful because you can test it,” she said. 

In most of ECOnsult’s projects, they have achieved up to 10-degree cooling without mechanical assistance. 

With fresh air, adequate lighting control, stone, and strategic color usage, much can be accomplished affordably, El-Battouty noted. 

“We need to use technologies that partner in informing us: today is a very hot day, your building is not doing well, I will adjust.” 

Some of the company’s other projects include the Pavilion Café in Italy, a net-zero building constructed entirely from discarded refrigerator casings and waste food. 

Another project is a nursery/kindergarten in China, designed to combat outside air pollution by eliminating plastic casings, placing floor tiles on the ceiling, and ensuring an airtight structure.  

Royal Herbs Village is also the first carbon-neutral project in the Middle East and North Africa region. Located on a 4,200-sq.-meter plot in the Western Desert, where temperatures can reach up to 50 degrees Celsius, eight buildings have been constructed to accommodate 120 people in a complex that operates without energy-intensive air conditioning units. 

Other projects include a net-zero vocational school repurposed from an old structure using affordable local materials and a model for efficient tiny homes tailored to suit local climates. 

Rather than relying solely on advanced technology to solve the climate crisis, El-Battouty stressed that the real solution, with high market return and economic value, lies in catering to local communities. 

“We’re not innovators. Villages and people have been building for thousands of years, understanding exceptionally well what to do in the winter, what to do in drought. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have survived.  

“Our job is to integrate all of this so we don’t come out on one end, isolated in a much smaller market, and then clap for ourselves that we have succeeded in changing the way we are building.” 

A small company with only 20 employees, ECOnsult has been working closely with the Saudi government, particularly in relation to UNCCD COP16, as well as with the Scottish government at the Glasgow climate conferences, to introduce climate-friendly and people-centric architecture into modern buildings and city plans. 

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index increased on Monday, gaining 2.58 points, or 0.02 percent, to close at 12,471.72.        

The total trading turnover of the benchmark index was SR5.93 billion ($1.58 billion), as 72 stocks advanced, while 159 retreated.             

The MSCI Tadawul Index also increased by 0.68 points, or 0.04 percent, to close at 1,550.94.         

The Kingdom’s parallel market, Nomu, gained 12.11 points, or 0.04 percent, to close at 31,426.76. This comes as 37 stocks advanced while 52 retreated.          

Al-Babtain Power and Telecommunication Co. was the best-performing stock of the day, with its share price surging by 4.44 percent to SR47.        

Other top performers included East Pipes Integrated Co. for Industry, which saw its share price rise by 3.75 percent to SR160.60, and Makkah Construction and Development Co., which saw a 3.52 percent increase to SR111.80.        

Al Majed Oud Co. rose 3.32 percent to SR168, while Allied Cooperative Insurance Group gained 3.26 percent to SR17.76.    

Al Yamamah Steel Industries Co. saw the steepest decline of the day, with its share price easing 6.32 percent to close at SR36.30.    

Saudi Fisheries Co. fell 3.40 percent to SR53.90, while Leejam Sports Co. dropped 4.84 percent to SR169.20.    

Thimar Development Holding Co. also faced a loss with its share price dipping 2.75 percent to SR56.50, while Shatirah House Restaurant Co. saw a 3.12 percent to settle at SR22.94.     

On the announcements front, Leejam Sports Co. reported a 13 percent year-on-year growth in revenue for the financial year 2024, reaching SR1.50 billion. Net profit also surged by 28 percent, amounting to SR456 million compared to SR356 million in 2023.   

The increase in revenue was driven by a 10 percent rise in subscription and membership revenue and a 31 percent increase in income from paid programs, including personal training and swimming.   

The company’s revenue growth trailed historic trends partly due to changes in the subscription and brand mix.    

Leejam also recorded notable one-off gains in 2024, including SR92 million from the sale of three land plots in Riyadh and SR18 million from favorable rent negotiations related to centers in Ras Al-Khaimah, UAE.  

Despite the recorded gains, Leejam was among TASI’s worst performers.  

Saudi Electricity Co. has announced plans to hold meetings with fixed-income investors starting Feb. 10 regarding a potential issuance of US dollar-denominated sukuk under its international sukuk program.  

The issuance will be conducted through a special-purpose vehicle and offered to eligible investors in Saudi Arabia and internationally, subject to market conditions.   

The sukuk will be senior unsecured and issued in compliance with relevant regulatory approvals and laws.  

SEC has appointed a consortium of global and regional financial institutions, including HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank, BNP Paribas, and others, as joint lead managers for the potential offer.   

The proceeds from the issuance will be used to support SEC’s general corporate purposes, including capital expenditures, and to fund projects aligned with its Green Sukuk Framework.  

The final terms, including the value of the offer, will be determined based on market conditions and SEC’s requirements.  

SEC’s share price saw a slight 0.23 percent increase on Monday to reach SR17.30.