Indian Consul General Faiz Ahmed Kidwai emphasized this at a seminar on “Engineering Transformation for Sustainable, Eco-Friendly and Affordable Solutions” organized by Indian Youth Welfare Association (IYWA) at Al-Hamra Pullman, on Friday.

Kidwai played a major role in the implementation of Roshni project of converting the Presidential Place in New Delhi as a paradigm of eco-friendly and sustainability through conservation, bio-waste management and utilization of solar energy as an alternate source of energy before taking charge as consul general recently.

He said environmental concerns and conservation principles should be imparted to school children, while college and university students should be encouraged to take up sustainable, eco-friendly, waste management and alternate sources of energy projects in the campus vicinity aside from creating awareness among the masses.

Abdul Basit Serafi, deputy director, Presidency of Meteorology and Environment, speaking as the guest of honor said Saudi Arabia was waiting for a breakthrough in solar energy technology to use it as an alternate source of energy, as the current technology is less efficient and financially not viable in terms of installation and maintenance in the sandy climatic conditions prevailing in Saudi Arabia. "The Kingdom had already commenced construction of a desalination plant, which will be ready for operation by next year totally running on solar energy," he said, adding that the new breakthrough of nano-solar technology, which is more efficient, cost-effective in installation and maintenance will boost the utilization of solar technology as an alternate source of energy.

Hazem Sabbagh, director of design at Saudi Diyar Consultants, who has created award-winning designs and is advocating sustainability through urban designs for the past decade, talked about promises of ecologically responsible design. He said the shift toward urbanization had placed increasing strain on existing cities. To counter this, cities and communities should optimize their infrastructures to provide modern, efficient, people-oriented services and developments while the contemporary designs should cater to sustainability while maintaining ecological equilibrium and topography of the region.

Speaking about the challenges and the contribution of engineers, Ramesh Tharwani, head of engineering department at Jazan Development, said: "It's time to anticipate possibilities for profound transformation toward inclusive societies with equitable growth and more responsible behaviors of consumption to minimize, stop and reverse the stresses on the environment by planning a sustainable development."

He said that more thrust should be given on sustainable buildings when compared to green buildings, as sustainability will induce the capacity of progressing toward attaining green building status.

Khaled Sabbagh, general manager of Modern Times Technical Systems (MTTS), emphasized the role of modern technologies in providing cutting-edge solutions in the management of electricity, water and various natural resources in a sustainable and eco-friendly way. Using technology to our advantage of saving energy in sectors like HVAC and lighting can help conserve energy consumption around the globe. While advocating the concept of Smart Building, he said implementation of building automation with precise controls, load shedding, set point offsets, lighting controls, LED lighting fixtures, occupancy sensors, dimming controls and day-light shading controls along with solar heaters with electric backups will contribute to a great extent in conserving energy, attain sustainability and transform the world to a better place to live in.

Ahsanullah Khan, senior Adviser and consultant at Presidency of Meteorology and Environment; Nazeer Ahmed, senior mechanical engineer; Hussam Al-Ghetani, Omar Al-Jundi, Vice President of Saudi Diyar Consultants and Asar Khan, president of Saudi Indian Business Network (SIBN) were among the other speakers. IYWA's Chief Coordinator Muzzamil Hussain, President Surender Pal Singh and Chief Patron L. Ramnarayan Iyer reviewed the activities of the organization. Zubair Mohammed was the event coordinator while the program was hosted by Khurram Illyas. Mir Gazanfar Ali Zaki presented the vote of thanks. Modren Times Technical Systems, Saudi Diyar Consultants, Saudi Lighting Company, Al Naser Co., Abdullah Hasham Company Ltd., Mariam Trading and Stag Consultancy were among event sponsors.