SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION IN OMAN: THE POTENTIAL ROLE OF THE INDUSTRIALIZED BUILDING SYSTEMS

Abstract

The Omani construction industry has been recently witnessing a boosted expansion associated with the notable growth in population and economy. In comparison with its neighboring countries, the construction industry in Oman is criticized for the lack of sustainability practices. Recently, the government and professional bodies have taken proactive actions to promote sustainable construction practices. The Industrialized Building Systems (IBS) could play an important role in the Omani’s construction industry in the future due to its environmental, economic, and social benefits. However, the lack of evidence on the contribution of IBS to the Omani’s construction industry suggests that this approach is not yet at top of stakeholder’s agenda. This paper focuses on the potential contribution of IBS on sustainable construction practices in Oman. Through literature review, a comprehensive list of sustainability factors affecting IBS applications in the Omani construction industry was developed. A stakeholder survey of Omani construction industry including clients, engineers, and contractors was conducted to understand their perception on the importance of these factors. The statistical analysis revealed that the environment-related and the implementation-related factors are more important than the social-related factors. The Economic-related factors were not found to be significantly more important than any other group of factors. Moreover, Construction Time was found to be the most important and the most influential factor among the 62 factors considered in this study. The paper concludes with recommendations to promote and improve applications of Industrialized building system in the Omani construction industry.