Mott MacDonald has been appointed by the environment agency in Abu Dhabi to help develop green building guidelines.

The consultant engineer has won a 12-year contract, which will be split into two stages. The first phase will be to develop the rules and the second will be to look at their implementation, monitoring and accreditation.

Abu Dhabi’s environment agency was established in 1996.

Gordon Hudson, director of Mott MacDonald, said: “It may be perceived that it’s not plausible to build green buildings in the Middle East but with the benefit of near year-round sunshine, solar power is a strong proposition.”

There is a huge amount planned for the built environment in Abu Dhabi, as growth in neighbouring emirate Dubai continues.