The regional leaders met in Jeddah to pledge support for the initiative on the sidelines of the two-day Environmental Infrastructure Forum that finished on Monday at Park Hyatt Hotel Jeddah.

“At a time of major growth for the construction and transportation sectors in the Kingdom and across the whole GCC region, now is the time to ensure environmental consideration is strongly incorporated in these construction and infrastructure projects to ensure sustainability and protect the environment for generations to come,” said SENS chairman Prince Turki bin Nasser bin Abdulaziz, also president of the Presidency of Meteorology and Environment (PME).

He added embedding environmental excellence into urban planning and energy regulations, increased efficiency and reduced dependency on energy intensive systems are key areas of importance to the Saudi construction industry and was a particular focus of the forum.

The opening ceremony of the forum was held under the patronage of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah.

The forum was inaugurated and supervised by Prince Turki in the presence of Prince Nawaf bin Nasser, executive director of SENS; and Prince Mansour bin Miteb, minister of transport.