Sustainability Of Construction Projects From The Life Cycle Perspective In Arab Gulf Region

There is no sustainable development unless the construction industry is one of its considerations.The construction industry is directly related to the economy of countries,at the same time,it is a contributor to the environmental problems caused by emissions during the project life cycles in addition to the large consumption of energy accompanying the construction operations.Therefore,the sustainability of the construction industry became urgent and not only important(Xu,Wang,&Tao,2019).Recently,interest in green buildings has increased,and consequently,many assessment tools have been developed around the world for the sake of the sustainability of construction projects.However,the oil-rich Arab Gulf states have not taken their share of that.Based on that this study aims to formulate an effective framework for assessing the sustainability of Construction Projects from the life cycle perspective in Arab Gulf region,which is a region that has experienced a large growth in the real estate sector due to increasing the population and economy which requires more needs of energy(Shaawat&Jamil,2014)at the same time that sustainability is not widely used.Although there are many evaluation systems such as Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method(BREEAM);Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design(LEED);the Global Sustainability Assessment System(GSAS),and Estidama Pearl)in Gulf region(Banani,Vahdati,Shahrestani,&Clements-Croome,2016)but due to the complexity of these rating systems and the difficulty of implementation,this limits their use.Likewise,studies that attempted to assess the sustainability of construction projects in Arab Gulf were only one that discussed the sustainability assessment in the Gulf region and relied solely on the compatibility of the three systems.Also,the desert environment prevails over the geography of this region,that is why the Arab Gulf region is considered one of the driest regions in the world(AI-Kaabi&Mackey,2019)therefore,the construction projects must have its own sustainability system in that region.It is hoped that this framework will be consistent with the principles and objectives of sustainable development and the local context in Arab Gulf region.This framework is expected to raise awareness of the concept of sustainability among urban development practitioners,help planners to plan sustainable project objectives,make contractors choose alternatives for sustainable implementation and motivate facility managers to operate facilities sustainably.This study presents a major effort in the Gulf region to propose a Gulf Construction Project Sustainability Assessing System which is called(AL-HAJJ).On the other hand,this study tried as closely as possible to approach accuracy based on experts' views and using Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy(FAHP)process and this is what will make this study very important for decision-makers in the Arab Gulf region.AL-HAJJ framework for assessing sustainability in construction projects in Arab Gulf region,which includes(24)economic,environmental and social indicators during inception,design and construction phase and assuming that the construction project,if it is sustainable during these three cycles of the project,it is,of course,sustainable in the closing-out stage.