BIBF conducts its periodic Real Estate Talks on Smart & Sustainable Real Estate

Tuesday, March 23, 2021

The Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance (BIBF) conducted its second Real Estate Talks session, a series held periodically to address the latest trends in real estate, this time to discuss the topic of Smart & Sustainable Real Estate in Downtown Areas.

The session hosted Dr. Sh. Fay Al Khalifa, Director of e-Learning at the University of Bahrain, as a main speaker and Mr. Ahmed Naeemi, Head of Digital Transformation and Project Management at the BIBF as a moderator, to discuss how profit and sustainability can increase through air zoning.

The speakers shed light on the topic of smart and sustainable real estate, especially in downtown areas, and provided insights into how sustainability can be achieved through mixed-use development, as it contributes in energy savings and reduces the need for travel.

Dr. Sh. Fay also shared Interesting insights on the average time spent in Bahrain travelling to and from school or work is 38 minutes. To put this into perspective, it takes around 90 minutes to reach your destination in Tokyo, while it takes around 30 minutes in a smart city like Hong Kong. She also suggested that the higher the number of developers adopting the smart and sustainable approaches in their projects, the higher the profitability generated in the long-term.

The session also highlighted Bahrain Bay becoming a smart and sustainable area through several projects, such as Golden Gate, Water Bay, and Onyx Bahrain Bay which are all new mixed-use projects located in the area.

The session concluded with a Q&A conversation from the attendees, where the speakers addressed pressing questions about smart and sustainable cities.