AMMAN, Jordan (AP) – In Jordan’s newest retail and leisure hub, the typical high-end boutiques, cinemas and gourmet coffee shops are tucked into an intricate ecosystem of natural heating and cooling, water recycling and hundreds of solar panels soaking up the sun’s rays.
The three-story Abdali Mall is the first large-scale commercial complex in Jordan to be built to strict “green” standards. It is seen as a trailblazer in conserving what resource-poor Jordan lacks most – water and energy. It’s also part of a growing movement to build with local materials.
Going green is vital for Jordan, which spends up to one-fifth of its budget on importing energy and is one of the driest countries in the world.
“This topic is not a luxury for us,” said Ruba Al-Zubi, who heads EDAMA, Arabic for sustainability, a group that promotes environmental practices in Jordan’s private sector. “For us, this is real development. If we want sustainable development, it has to be built on the standards of a green economy.”
The 227,000-square-meter (2.4 million square feet) Abdali Mall is a centerpiece of a new business area in the center of the capital, Amman.