Smart buildings incorporate modern technological innovations to increase efficiency. With energy savings of up to 30 percent and construction costs as much as 60 percent lower, it's no wonder that in other Gulf Cooperation Council members states (Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE and Oman) the percentage of smart buildings to the total is about 40 percent.

The reason for the slow-to-embrace mentality in Saudi Arabia compared to its neighbors?

"Saudi society finds it difficult to embrace innovative construction techniques," says Abdullah Bakr Radwan, member of the national committee in the Council of Saudi Chambers.

This might be changing, according to one of the players in smart buildings.

"We have executed a number of smart buildings in Saudi Arabia, including the headquarters of the Ministry of Higher Education in Riyadh," said Basil Abdul Aziz, CEO and managing director of Al-Salim Johnson Controls company. "Many real-estate developers have adopted the idea of smart buildings because of their ability to meet the demand of the growing population in the Kingdom."

According to Basil, the main problem facing the real-estate sector in the Kingdom is the high price of land.

Radwan said that Saudis prefer large open interiors in their commercial buildings, a feature that is not used in smart-building construction because of the energy savings involved with not having to cool large interior spaces. He also agreed with Basil that land prices in the Kingdom are a huge impediment to development.

Radwan pointed out that the Saudi government has paved the way for smart buildings by approving new building codes to promote the construction of smart buildings.

Abdullah Al-Sulaimani, a real estate expert, expected investments in smart buildings to reach more than SR140 billion in the next eight years.

He said the new technologies used in these buildings also reduce the water consumption by about 50 percent and eliminate construction debris by about 90 percent.