UAE Delegation Visits SABIC’s Home of Innovation Growth Initiative

A United Arab Emirates delegation visited the SABIC’s Home of InnovationTM growth initiative in Riyadh Techno Valley on Thursday, April 13.

The delegation included Awaidhah Murshid Al-Marar, Head of the Department of Municipal Affairs and Transport in Abu Dhabi; Jamila Mohammed Al-Fandi, Director General of the Sheikh Zayed Housing Program; Saif Badr Al-Qubaisi, Director General of the Abu Dhabi Housing Authority; Sami Abdullah Gargash, Executive Director of Mohammed Bin Rashid Housing Establishment; and Mattar Al-Tayer, Director General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority.

The delegation was received by Dr. Fahd Al-Shuraihi, Vice President for Technical Centers; Ali Al-Shamrani, Vice President, CEO Business Support and Executive Affairs; Khalid Al-Mezyad, Vice President, Corporate Affairs, and several other SABIC leaders.

The delegation toured and listened to a presentation about the Home of Innovation, which is a focal point for innovation, technology, and development in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East and Africa. HOI is a collaborative business environment and a platform to link leading manufacturing companies with markets and materials solutions, stimulating new ideas and creative thinking.

The delegation was briefed on the high performance Demonstration Home and learned about the advanced technologies used to create this modern home, which is designed to achieve net-zero energy balance in the hot Saudi climate.

The home strengthens efforts to build more sustainable homes in the region and inspires the construction sector to integrate proven technologies, materials, products, and systems to improve the building performance. It uses environmentally responsible building materials and techniques, including paints and finishes that contain little or no VOC emissions, ventilation-control techniques, air filtration, and contaminant-mitigation methods to maintain indoor air cleanliness, and low-maintenance internal and external finishing materials.

The delegation expressed admiration for the Home of Innovation and stressed the necessity for collaboration between bodies in Saudi Arabia and the UAE to ensure that the visions of the of the two countries’ leaders are achieved. They stressed the necessity to achieve greater integration and strategic cooperation in various aspects in line with the Khalwat Al-Azm project, a subcommittee of the Saudi-UAE Coordination Council.

ENDS
Hisham Al-Joher
Director, Global Media and Internal Communications