Dubai Municipality seeks private sector support on BIM mandate
Less than 10% of the market has adopted BIM, building department official estimates
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A senior official from the Dubai Municipality’s building department told Big Project ME that the department is keen to work with peers from the local construction industry to build on the BIM mandate which was announced in November 2013 through a circular released by the emirate’s municipal agency.
Speaking at ‘Road To Expo 2020’, a round-table event hosted by Big Project ME, Mohammed Abdullah Tawalbeh, principal architectural design engineer from the building department’s qualification and building studies section said the building department hopes to “layer” the BIM mandate, approved and promoted by the director-general of the Municipality, Eng. Husain Lootah.
“I know leaders from the Municipality are looking to build their own information bank to support research and development initiatives, but we need full support and data from the market to be able to do so,” Tawalbeh said, adding the Municipality’s challenge right now is to ensure the entire construction market in Dubai has full awareness of BIM’s many aspects, such as its functionality, how to use it, its benefits and so on.
“We first have to prepare the market to use BIM,” he said. “Many companies and consultancies lack awareness of its usage. I don’t expect more than 10% of the market to know or have any awareness about the full scope of BIM, so to promote its adoption will be a challenge for us.
“The building department at the Municipality will surely support Eng. Lootah’s decision to promote BIM in Dubai,” Tawalbeh continued. “At this point, the market has only a basic awareness of the mandate’s requirements. Awareness of BIM software is also low, so we will ensure companies train their staff on how to use it.
“We want to draw a roadmap for how best to use BIM, and we need a clear idea of how it can benefit us. Working with experienced partners from the private sector will help us add layers to our existing knowledge of BIM.”
