QNB's Acting Group Chief Executive Officer and other top executives of the bank during their visit to QNB’s branch in Msheireb Downtown Doha.
Msheireb Properties, Qatar’s leading sustainable developer and a subsidiary of Qatar Foundation for Education, Sciences and Community Development, yesterday announced the opening of the first bank in its flagship development project, Msheireb Downtown Doha (MDD).
QNB, the largest financial institutions in the Middle East and Africa, and one of MDD’s first commercial tenants, will occupy its building and provide a range of services to individual customers and businesses.
QNB’s building is a commercial property located in MDoha, the 2nd Smartest City District in the World and one of the world’s most Sustainable City Districts. Located adjacent to MDD’s underpass to Souq Waqif, QNB’s new four-story building will provide retail services, asset and wealth management and international corporates and global transactions. Moreover, the building will host the headquarters of QNB Capital, the Bank’s subsidiary that provides an array of investment banking services within Qatar and globally.
QNB’s new building was designed and constructed according to the LEED New Construction 2009 certification system and will be targeting LEED Gold status now that it is operational. LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is the most widely used green building rating system in the world and is a globally recognized symbol of sustainability achievement.
For his part, QNB Group Acting CEO, Mr Abdulla Mubarak Al Khalifa, said: ‘’ We are pleased to be part of this huge project that demonstrates Qatar’s great achievements in the properties sector through establishing a world class city district that will host the country’s leading organizations and companies in one place. This aids in promoting sustainability which is a common core interest shared by QNB, as the biggest Bank in Qatar and Musheireb properties’’.
Ali Al Kuwari, Acting CEO, Msheireb Properties, said: “We are honored to welcome the QNB to our flagship development project, Msheireb Downtown Doha. We have transformed the center of Doha by building the world’s first smart and sustainable downtown regeneration project. As the leading bank in Qatar and the region, we are delighted to have QNB locate within MDD and their commercial operations benefit from being in city district built according to the highest standards of sustainable practice.”
Overall energy savings for the QNB Building is targeted to be 44.5 percent, with renewable energy generated by roof mounted solar thermal panels for domestic hot water generation. Twenty roof mounted solar thermal panels provide 31 percent of the buildings domestic hot water generation.
The potable water saving is 24 percent, while the landscape water saving is 100 percent, with no potable water use. Efficient landscape water usage, utilising drip irrigation and selected plantings, reduces water consumption by 52 percent compared with conventional design.
The overall potable water saving for the building is 88 percent due to non‐potable water use in the district cooling plant cooling towers, irrigation and flushing fixtures. Non‐potable water is generated for QNB Building through collection of air conditioning condensate, which is estimated to generate 143 cubic meters.
A comprehensive Measurement and Verification Plan will be implemented for the building, ensuring all building energy is monitored through the building management system (BMS) to evaluate the energy performance of the building and compare predicted performance to actual performance.
Msheireb Downtown Doha is the first truly sustainable regeneration project from inception, to delivery and finally use, with all buildings guaranteeing optimal consumption of water and energy.
