meed-logo

line1 line2 line3
SIGN IN / REGISTER

PropTech sets out to transform built world

8 September 2022

PropTech has become a new buzzword in today’s highly digitalised world. The umbrella term for tech-driven innovative building industry solutions, its adoption is accelerating rapidly – rising by a staggering 1,072 per cent from 2015-19, according to Forbes.  

Property technology is only poised to keep growing. A recent study by PwC and the Urban Land Institute highlighted that the use of technologies by real estate companies in Europe will trend upwards over the next three to five years.

Expedited further by the pandemic, property technology is reconfiguring how all stakeholders relate to the built environment, from how they experience, design, construct and market buildings to property management. 

Outlined below are some important ways this unfolds across the five property development stages.

Digitalised cities 

Data technology is the cornerstone of smart cities. Offering multiple sustainability benefits, it is being used to integrate building and infrastructure systems.

Sensors, data centres and digital twins monitor key historical and real-time indicators of demographic trends, property inventories, power and water use, and building carbon emissions. By using urban data analytics, policies for waste reduction, building decarbonisation and even affordable housing can be better achieved.

A prime example is Singapore’s pioneering digital twin experiment. Data in the form of GIS, lidar and satellite imagery were processed to create a 3D digital replica called ‘Virtual Singapore’.



A snapshot of Virtual Singapore, the city’s pioneering digital twin project. Source: National Mapping Archives – gwprime (geospatialworld.net)

The single, centralised, real-time database is already helping the city to respond to challenges related to water supply management, track real estate market changes, and deploy solar farms to meet growing domestic and industrial demands.

PropTech adoption accelerated by 1,072 per cent from 2015 to 2019 

E-real estate

In the real estate sector, technology is helping to solve problems such as lack of transparency, information asymmetry and high investment risks. In the UAE, a person renting or buying property exclusively through a broker is almost unheard of, while 93 per cent of US buyers use real estate websites when searching for a home. This may mean the entire market is becoming digitalised. 

And for very good reasons. For one, online sales platforms simplify the arduous task of property hunting for people with little background knowledge in a sophisticated and highly technical field. Platforms such as Bayut and RealAR app offer in-depth information on listing characteristics, provide analysis of comparable properties, and even furnish virtual simulations to help guide purchase and modification decisions. 

But technology is poised to go even further. For example, price-gouging algorithms are being developed to use predictive analytics that process data on transactions, forecast future trends, value property returns and assess mortgage quotations, all aimed at oiling the wheels of a heavy-moving sector. 

  Subscribe to MEED.com

  The #1 platform for business news and intelligence trusted by 1,000+ leading, global brands 
Building information management

BIM has sounded the death knell for the age of Computer-Aided Design (CAD). Architects and urban designers are now using advanced software to model multi-layered information instead of physical forms. By doing so, integrated design – so crucial for sustainable development – has become business-as-usual.

BIM allows professionals to design, modify and manage the building’s entire lifecycle using a single virtual model that simulates its performance. Further, using parametric tools, designers can even tweak design factors to meet priority sustainability targets.  

This is how the National University of Singapore delivered its new School of Design and Environment. Using BIM technology, architects were able to explore options in massing and orientation, canopy and opening sizing, and room layouts by reporting their environment and energy performances in real time.

Optimising these, they passively minimised the building’s baseline energy and material demands. Then, a parity was struck by deploying renewable energy technologies such as 1,225 photovoltaic panels and hybrid cooling systems, allowing the university to pioneer the city’s first net-zero energy building.



The School of Design and Environment – Singapore’s first net-zero energy building. Source: NUS School of Design & Environment, SDE 4 – Surbana Jurong

3D construction 

Technology’s introduction to construction is transforming the sector into a safer, wasteless, cost-effective and faster enterprise. One way this is happening is through innovations in 3D printing machinery. These use BIM models to digitally produce on-site or prefabricated components most efficiently, while complementary smart machinery robotically performs repetitive tasks like concrete pouring and plastering. 

One notable example is Dubai Municipality’s largest 3D printed structure in the world, built in 2019. Standing 9 metres tall with an area of 640 square metres, the edifice employed only three workers.



Apis-Cor’s award-winning 3D-printed building, Dubai. Source: Apis Cor builds world’s largest 3D-printed building in Dubai (dezeen.com)

The breakthrough came in constructing the walls by a printer instead of the traditional wooden formwork, steel reinforcement and concrete pouring methods. This was complemented by precast slabs and prefabricated windows, which offered multiple cost and environmental savings.

Nonetheless, the extent of the scalability of 3D printing to multi-story residential and office buildings remains to be explored.

Technology is percolating and reforming every stage of the real estate value chain, from smarter cities to efficient building design, construction, operation and marketing

Green building management

Surprisingly, it has been reported that green-rated buildings can miss their performance and savings targets. According to a recent study, the primary cause is human behaviour. Either uninformed or disincentivised to take full custody of carefully-designed systems, end users frequently misuse them.

But technology has provided the solution: building management systems (BMS), through IoT or digital twins, can track parameters like energy and water usage, waste generation, carbon emissions and indoor air quality, and help to control them. 

BMS can even compare performance to design metrics. This is demonstrated by the newly completed Beeah headquarters in the UAE. Acclaimed to be the first fully AI-integrated office in the Middle East, this LEED-certified smart building employs a digital twin as the basis for a Smart Facility Management System.

By learning occupancy habits, one novelty of this system is its ability to forecast energy demands and optimise electricity consumption, conduct predictive maintenance checks, and even take autonomous decisions to rectify faults in equipment performance, achieving a huge 90 per cent energy efficiency saving.



Zaha Hadid’s Beeah headquarters is futuristic in form and operation. Source: BEEAH Headquarters – Zaha Hadid Architects (zaha-hadid.com)

Although a relative laggard in digital transformation, the building sector is swiftly catching up. Technology is percolating and reforming every stage of the real estate value chain, from smarter cities to efficient building design, construction, operation and marketing.

By doing so, PropTech is helping to solve some of the sector’s perennial problems. It is improving information transparency, social inclusion, building design and residents’ wellbeing, in addition to reducing risk and limiting waste generation and carbon emissions, among many other benefits.

The views expressed are those of the author and do no necessarily reflect the company's position.

https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/9988753/main.gif

Register for MEED's guest program now to access this article.

Click here to register
Exclusive from Meed
Related Articles
  • Three bids submitted for Riyadh-Qassim IWTP

    18 September 2025

     

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    State water offtaker Saudi Water Partnership Company (SWPC) has received three bids from the private sector for the development of the Riyadh-Qassim independent water transmission pipeline (IWTP) project.

    The bids were submitted by two consortiums and one individual company.

    The first consortium comprises Saudi firms Al-Jomaih Energy & Water, Al-Khorayef Water & Power Technologies, AlBawani Capital and Buhur for Investment Company.

    The second consortium comprises Bahrain/Saudi Arabia-based Lamar Holding, the UAE's Etihad Water & Electricity and China’s Shaanxi Construction Installation Group.

    The third bid was submitted by Saudi Arabia's Vision Invest.

    In August, MEED exclusively reported that SWPC had extended the bid submission deadline again for a contract to develop and operate the project. 

    The deadline for bids was 17 September.

    The project will have a transmission capacity of 685,000 cubic metres a day. It will include a pipeline length of 859 kilometres (km) and a total storage capacity of 1.59 million cubic metres.

    The scheme is the third IWTP contract to be tendered by SWPC since 2022.   

    The first two are the 150km Rayis-Rabigh IWTP, which is under construction, and the 603km Jubail-Buraydah IWTP, the contract for which was awarded to a team of Riyadh-based companies comprising Al-Jomaih Energy & Water, Nesma Group and Buhur for Investment Company.

    Like the first two IWTPs, the Riyadh-Qassim IWTP project will be developed using a 35-year build-own-operate-transfer contracting model.

    Commercial operations are expected to commence in the first quarter of 2030.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/14691078/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • Saudi Arabia seeks firms for six renewable projects

    17 September 2025

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    Saudi Arabia's principal buyer, Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC), has invited interested companies to prequalify for the contracts to develop and operate solar photovoltaic (PV) and wind independent power producer (IPP) projects with a total combined capacity of 5,300MW.

    The following schemes comprise round seven of the kingdom's National Renewable Energy Programme (NREP):

    • 1,400MW Tabjal 2 solar PV IPP (Tabrijal, Al-Jouf Province)
    • 600MW Mawqqaq solar PV IPP (Mawqqaq, Hail Province)
    • 600MW Tathleeth solar PV IPP (Tathleeth, Aseer Province)
    • 500MW South Al-Ula solar PV IPP (Al-Ula, Medina Province)
    • 1,300MW Bilgah wind IPP (Bilgah, Medina Province)
    • 900MW Shagran wind IPP (Shagran, Medina Province)

    These projects are part of the NREP, which aims to achieve an optimal energy mix and supply 50% of the kingdom's electricity from renewable energy by 2030.

    Earlier rounds under the NREP have already put in place large capacities.

    Round six solicited around 4,500MW of solar and wind projects:

    • 1,500MW Dawadmi wind IPP  (Riyadh)
    • 1,400MW Najran solar PV IPP (Najran)
    • 600MW Samtah solar PV IPP (Jizan)
    • 600MW Al-Darb solar PV IPP (Jizan)
    • 400MW Al-Sufun solar PV IPP (Hail)

    In April, MEED reported that prequalified developers were forming teams to bid for the contracts to develop solar farms under the sixth round of the NREP.

    A separate set of bidders were prequalified for the 1,500MW Dawadmi wind farm, with contracts due to be awarded before the end of the year.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/14684103/main3708.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • Qatar tenders Smaisma infrastructure contract

    17 September 2025

     

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    Qatar’s Public Works Authority (Ashghal) has tendered a contract inviting construction firms to bid for the remaining works on roads and infrastructure in the small seaside town of Smaisma.

    The contract covers package two in the south area of Smaisma, located 52 kilometres (km) north of Hamad International airport.

    The scope of work includes the completion of the remaining works and remedial works on three zones. Each zone is further divided into three sub-zones.

    The scope also covers the remaining works on road C1017.

    The contract duration is two years from the start of construction works.

    The tender was floated on 15 September with a bid submission date of 28 October.

    The latest notice follows the tendering for the construction of roads and infrastructure in Wadi Al-Banat North (Zone 70).

    Market overview

    After 2019, there was a consistent year-on-year decline in contract awards in Qatar’s construction and transport sectors. The total value of awards in that year was $13.5bn, but by 2023 it had fallen to just over $1.2bn.

    In 2024, the value of project contract awards increased to $1.7bn, bucking the downward trend in the market in the preceding four years.

    Of last year’s figure, the construction sector accounted for contract awards of over $1.2bn, while transport contract awards were about $200m.

    There are strategic projects in the bidding phase in Qatar worth more than $5bn, and these are expected to provide renewed impetus to the construction and transportation market, presenting opportunities for contractors in the near term.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/14682452/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Dragon Oil to boost exploration and production in Egypt

    17 September 2025

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    Dubai-based Dragon Oil has signed a deal with the state-owned national oil company Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC), agreeing to increase exploration and production activities in the Gulf of Suez.

    Under the terms of the agreement, Dragon Oil will make investments worth about $30m.

    This will fund activities including a programme to drill at least two new wells in the East El-Hamd area.

    Abdulkarim Ahmed Al-Mazmi, the acting chief executive of Dragon Oil, said: “The signing of this agreement reaffirms Dragon Oil’s commitment to strengthening its strategic presence in the Arab Republic of Egypt and supporting EGPC’s efforts to develop energy resources in the Gulf of Suez region, in line with the company’s vision for growth and sustainability.”

    Dragon Oil is wholly owned by Emirates National Oil Company, which is fully owned by the Government of Dubai.

    Al-Mamzi said that the new investments are part of Dragon Oil’s broader strategy to expand in regional markets and to strengthen its position in the oil and gas sector, in line with the directions of the government of the UAE, and in particular the Government of Dubai.

    The agreement was signed at the EGPC headquarters in Cairo.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/14680456/main.png
    Wil Crisp
  • Construction launched for final major projects of Iraq’s GGIP

    17 September 2025

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    Officials have announced the start of construction on Iraq’s Common Seawater Supply Project (CSSP) and the full field development of the Ratawi oil field, which is also known as the Artarwi field.

    The two projects are the two last major contracts of the Gas Growth Integrated Project (GGIP).

    The GGIP is led by France’s TotalEnergies, which is the operator and has a 45% stake in the project.

    Its partners are Iraq’s state-owned Basra Oil Company, which has a 30% stake, and QatarEnergy, which has a 25% stake.

    An event in Baghdad to mark the launch of the two projects was attended by senior officials including Patrick Pouyanne, the chairman and chief executive of TotalEnergies; and Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, who is Qatar’s Minister of State for Energy Affairs, as well as the president and chief executive of QatarEnergy.

    In a statement, TotalEnergies said: “All four parts (natural gas, solar, oil, water) of the GGIP are now in the execution phase.”

    The CSSP will be built on Iraq's coast, near the town of Um Qasr. It will process and transport 5 million barrels a day (b/d) of seawater to the main oil fields in southern Iraq.

    Treated seawater will be substituted for the freshwater currently taken from the Tigris, Euphrates and aquifers to maintain pressure in the oil wells.

    The project is expected to help alleviate water stress in the region and free up to 250,000 cubic metres of freshwater a day for irrigation and local agriculture needs, according to TotalEnergies.

    The Ratawi redevelopment was launched in September 2023. Phase one aims to increase production to 120,000 b/d of oil and is expected to come on stream by early 2026.

    The launch of phase two, the full field development, will enable production to be increased to 210,000 b/d starting in 2028, with no routine flaring, according to TotalEnergies.

    In a statement, it said that all 160,000 cubic feet a day (cf/d) of associated gas produced will be fully processed by the 300,000 cf/d Gas Midstream Project (GMP), the construction of which began in early 2025.

    The GMP, which will also treat previously flared gas from two other fields in southern Iraq, will deliver processed gas into the national grid, where it will fuel power plants with a production capacity of approximately 1.5GW, providing electricity to 1.5 million Iraqi households.

    An early production facility to process 50,000 cf/d of associated gas will start in early 2026, together with the Ratawi phase one oil production.

    Pouyanne said: “We are delighted today to award the two final contracts of the GGIP, in particular the seawater treatment plant, which has been long awaited by the oil industry in Iraq.

    “In less than two years since the GGIP effective date in August 2023, TotalEnergies and its partners have fully executed their commitment towards the people of Iraq and launched all projects included in the multi-energy GGIP project, the best showcase of TotalEnergies' transition strategy.

    “All these projects will bring a significant contribution to the Iraq economy and employ during the construction phase 7,000 Iraqi nationals.

    “Furthermore, I am proud to confirm that the first phase of the associated gas, oil and solar projects will start up as soon as early 2026.”

    Turkiye’s Enka has signed a contract to develop a central processing facility at the Ratawi oil field as part of the second phase of the field’s development.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/14680455/main.png
    Wil Crisp