Podcast. Water, Energy and the Environment in the Middle East, produced by Engineering Matters

Water, Energy and the Environment in the Middle East

There is a changing view of the environment among public sector clients in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia has ambitious goals like generating 50% of electricity from renewables by 2030, the UAE has targets such as diverting 80 percent of its waste from landfill by by 2031, and Qatar is moving towards 100% treated wastewater reuse.

With environmental considerations now at the core of new projects, rather than being a problem to be dealt with, each project must consider its impact on the environment. This means a shift from reacting to problems, to planning with goals being measured.

Countries like UAE, Saudi and Qatar, are putting in place long-term plans for strategies that include waste diversion, emissions reductions and renewable energy. In benchmarking these strategies against international standards and best practices, the deployment of digital tools is critical.

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Transcription

YA : Yassmin AlKhatib | Egis

YA : I've been working in the Middle East for more than 15 years now and I've seen a really big change in how governments are thinking about the environment. I think there's been a real shift from, reacting to problems, to planning with goals being measured. We see that countries like UAE, Saudi and Qatar, they're really putting long-term plans for strategies that include waste diversion, emissions reductions or renewable energy. And they're benchmarking these strategies against international standards and best practices.

As nations in the Middle East rushed to build infrastructure in the late 20th Century, development was a more pressing concern than the environment.

Today, those priorities have changed. Now, each project must consider its impact on the environment.

YA : We're seeing clients adopting the strictest international standards and they're making this a minimum requirement. So we're seeing international standards specifically on emission standards similar to what you'd see in the eu which are advanced, the most advanced, globally.

YA : We're also starting to see clients bring in eco design from the start and expect that of consultants like Egis using digital engineering or modeling to optimize the layouts from the very beginning.

Welcome to Engineering Matters. I’m Tim Sheahan, and I’m Alex Conacher. In this episode, part of a mini-series produced in partnership with Egis, we will learn how a new client focus on the environment is demanding more from engineering firms operating in the Middle East region.

Yassmin AlKhatib is regional director for Water, Environment and Energy transition with Egis in the Middle East. The group she leads was formed to offer and intregrated set of services from design thought to operations & maintenance. It built on previous successes in the region.

YA : We have built a very strong track record in the water sector specifically in project management consultancy and site supervision. And in recent years we've we've really invested in diversifying into design services and this has been complemented by advanced digital tools and 3d modeling and gis mapping that we're we're now including as part of our services

YA : I think local governments—and governments globally—they should see that water, environment and energy are interconnected systems. They need to be planned and managed together.

As clients saw the need for an interconnected approach to environmental infrastructure, Yassmin and her colleagues realised their business should reflect this approach.

YA : In 2024, when we looked at reshaping the structure, we actually took a step back to look at what are our strengths, what are the market needs, what are our clients need? And we saw that things were changing.

YA : And from that, we said, okay, let's look at reshaping our services, how we're organized, not just regionally, but globally as well. We've brought together our water, environment, and energy experts under one umbrella.

This new structure allows Egis to offer a full package of services for these major projects, embedding environmental support alongside project design and management.

YA : Every big project that's being rolled out in the region, it needs to be built with future environmental challenges in mind. And within this structure, we're able to support that.

And advanced tools allow ongoing support, to ensure environmental goals are met.

YA : I think with the use of digital tools and AI, we're able to monitor these results in real time. We're also seeing, you know, through embedding eco-design, governments can ensure that infrastructure and built assets are really built to perform sustainably for decades.

This is backed up by the international expertise Egis can bring to bear.

YA : We have the international experience, we have the local knowledge, and most of us are engineers, specialists, scientists, so we have this background of deep technical understanding. This is what clients are looking for in the region.

YA : And that's why we've brought these disciplines together under one structure so that we can design and deliver these solutions that work across the systems rather than in isolation. And when we see governments setting goals for net zero, waste reduction or biodiversity, I think the most effective way to achieve this is through integrated planning and delivery.

This depth and breadth of engineering support will only become more important, as nations in the region move forward with ambitious national plans.

YA : Saudi Arabia has Vision 2030. They also have the Saudi green initiative which sets ambitious goals like generating 50% of electricity from renewables by 2030. They've also committed to planting 10 billion trees to the massive commitment and you know it includes goals like protecting 30% of its land and marine environments.

YA : If we look at the UAE, the UAE's net zero 2050 pledge you know they've pledged to committing emissions as much as possible and to offset the rest as well as, they've put in targets like diverting 80 percent of their waste from landfill by by 2031 and I think in order to achieve these goals it will require a major change across you know the energy transport water and waste systems.

YA : In Qatar as well—maybe we talk about Qatar—their national vision and strategies, we already see that they're translating you know directly into real projects such as the goal for 100% treated wastewater reuse: that's a major investment in sustainable waste management infrastructure.

The scale of these plans make connected thinking on the environment and master planning vital.

YA : In this region, those links are really impossible to ignore. We see energy projects often have environmental requirements. Sustainable cities really depend on smart water management. And all three disciplines, water, environment, energy, they're really shaped by climate and the resource pressures.

And there is still a legacy of environmental remediation needed, to make up for some issues that came up during the region’s rapid growth phase from the 1970s on.

YA : The closure of dump sites is a problem, but we've seen a major change in the last 10 years. But in the region, we are involved with clients to close and rehabilitate older landfills and the aim is to cut the landfill waste to almost 10 percent in some of these countries and to maximize recycling.

YA : In some cases Egis is working on restoring the sites to nearby areas, where there's potential groundwater contamination, so we're we're helping to close these old dump sites. These are dump sites that were never engineered properly to start with. We're supporting them with proper lining or leachate control. And this can be an issue. It can cause long-term issues for soils and air quality. So it's a very important topic and very high on the agenda for the governments.

New national visions, and a new focus on environmental issues, demands serious investment. National governments cannot anymore just spend public funds, but increasingly want to establish public private partnerships.

YA : The PPP models, they're becoming more common now. In the past, PPPs, especially in the region, they were just supporting road and transport projects. So now seeing them on the environmental projects like waste to energy and recycling facilities, which we're involved in, it's really a big step forward.

YA : These government sector clients, they want to bring in these investors. And these are projects, massive projects that haven't been done before. So bringing in this PPP model allows for this risk sharing, especially with clients who haven't done this before. Many of these clients haven't built major projects. So you need these investors to come in. Under this PPP model. I think it's a way to de-risk it on both ends.

The private sector always needs to consider risk when making investments like this. And by bringing in a comprehensive approach to water, environmental services, and the energy transition, fuelled by cutting edge tools and global experience, Egis is able to help identify and reduce risks.

YA : I think the contractual approach that the PPP model allows, it allows governments and private investors, like I said, to share the risk. And at Egis, with the services that we offer, we're able to provide advisory and design delivery, and we have the local teams who really understand the laws and regulations required to deliver these projects. Also, we're very lucky to be backed by our international experts who bring a lot of lessons learned from similar projects that they've worked on.

Podcast. Water, Energy and the Environment in the Middle East, produced by Engineering Matters

Water, Energy and the Environment in the Middle East

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