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
  • Dubai seeks consultants to develop drainage strategy

    18 March 2026

    Dubai Municipality has issued a request for qualifications (RFQ) for a study to develop a sustainable urban drainage systems (Suds) strategy across the emirate.

    The bid submission deadline is 9 April.

    The tender, issued through the Sewerage and Recycled Water Projects Department, covers the development of a strategy and conceptual implementation plan for Suds in Dubai.

    It follows a separate RFQ issued by the municipality in March for consultancy services to study the emirate’s sewage treatment strategy.

    The Suds project, designated TF-23-D1, aims to support the emirate’s flood protection and drainage infrastructure by promoting a more sustainable approach to stormwater management.

    The scope of work includes a review of international best practices in Suds and their applicability to Dubai. It also involves undertaking a Suds opportunity study and carrying out catchment-scale modelling and financial evaluation for a pilot study area.

    Consultants will be required to develop Suds design guidelines, specifications and standard drawings. The project also includes establishing a strategy, policy, legal and regulatory framework to support a Suds implementation roadmap.

    Dubai Municipality said the initiative represents “a significant step towards a more resilient, sustainable and forward-looking stormwater management approach for Dubai.”

    The study forms part of a broader review of Dubai’s water and wastewater infrastructure. Earlier this month, the municipality issued a separate consultancy tender (P115-D1) to assess the emirate’s sewage treatment and recycled water distribution strategy. 

    The study will focus on infrastructure requirements to support future population growth. 

    This includes identifying locations for potential future facilities such as treatment plants and pumping stations.

    The bid submission deadline is 23 March.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16027434/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • Oman awards power purchase agreements

    18 March 2026

    Oman’s Nama Power & Water Procurement Company (PWP) has issued letters of award (LoA) for new power purchase agreements (PPAs) to three independent power producers (IPPs), according to regulatory filings.

    The new PPAs will extend the operating life of existing gas-fired power plants beyond the expiry of their current contracts.

    The projects have a combined capacity of about 3,500MW.

    The agreements have been awarded to Phoenix Power Company, Al-Batinah Power Company and Al-Suwadi Power Company.

    Phoenix Power Company operates the 2,000MW Sur IPP.  It is owned by a consortium of international and regional investors, including Japan’s Marubeni Corporation and Chubu Electric Power, Qatar’s Nebras Power, Qatar Electricity & Water Company and Multitech of Oman’s Bahwan Engineering Company.

    Al-Batinah Power Company and Al-Suwadi Power Company operate the 750MW Sohar 2 IPP and the 750MW Barka 3 IPP, respectively.

    According to regional projects tracker MEED Projects, Nama PWP signed the original PPA for the Barka 3 project in 2010 with a consortium led by Gaz de France (GDF) Suez under a special purpose vehicle (SPC) called Al-Suwadi Power Company.

    The shareholders comprised GDF Suez (46%), Bahwan Engineering Company (22%), Shikoku Electric Power Corporation (11%), Sojitz Corporation (11%)  and the Public Authority for Social Insurance (10%).

    In 2015, GDF Suez was rebranded as Engie following a strategic shift towards low-carbon energy and utilities.

    All three companies said the new PPAs will run for 15 years under agreed commercial terms. Acceptance of the LOAs has been requested by 18 March 2026.

    The new agreements for Sohar 2 and Barka 3 will take effect on 1 April 2028 and run until 31 March 2043. The agreement for the Sur IPP will commence on 1 April 2029 and run until 31 March 2044.

    The awards form part of Nama PWP’s 2028-29 procurement programme. The programme aims to secure firm generation capacity from existing assets whose current PPAs are due to expire during that period.

    In Oman, IPP projects are developed under a build-own-operate model. This allows plant operators to continue running assets beyond the initial PPA term, either through contract extensions or by selling power into a future electricity market.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16027001/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • DP World awards Jafza warehouse construction deal

    18 March 2026

    Dubai-based ports operator DP World has awarded a contract to build a multi-tenant warehouse development at Jebel Ali Freezone in Dubai, UAE.

    The contract was awarded to local firm Group Amana.

    The development spans 141,916 square metres (sq m) and comprises 187 units across seven blocks.

    These comprise warehouses, light industrial units, a retail shop, a mosque and other associated infrastructure.

    The new contract builds on their existing partnership to deliver the logistics park at Jeddah Islamic Port in Saudi Arabia.

    In February last year, MEED exclusively reported that Dubai’s DP World and the Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) had awarded a SR347m ($92m) design-and-build contract to Group Amana for the project.

    The scope of the contract covers construction work on the buildings under package two of the project’s first phase.

    Earlier this week, MEED reported that DP World has kept its 2026 capital expenditure budget at nearly $3bn, focusing on two domestic assets and four overseas projects.

    The company said in a statement that the priority developments include Jebel Ali and Drydocks World in Dubai.

    Earlier this month, the group announced record financial results for 2025, with revenue up 22% to $24.4bn and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) up 18% to $6.4bn, delivering a 26.3% margin.

    DP World said this performance was driven by strong momentum across its ports and terminals and logistics business.

    The group’s gross throughput rose 5.8% to 93.4 million 20-foot equivalent units.

    Profit for the year increased 32.2% to $1.96bn, and operating cash flow grew 14% to $6.3bn.

    Return on capital employed increased to 9.9% in 2025, up from 8.9% in 2024, reflecting stronger earnings despite ongoing geopolitical and trade uncertainty.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16026660/main.png
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Egyptian firm starts building Sal’s Riyadh logistics centre

    18 March 2026

    Egyptian contractor Rowad Modern Engineering, a subsidiary of the Elsewedy Electric Group, has begun construction on the expansion of Saudi Logistics Services Company (Sal) facilities at King Khalid International airport in Riyadh.

    The scope of work includes the rehabilitation and upgrade of existing infrastructure, as well as the construction of new supporting facilities and services.

    Sal started the tendering process for its SR4.2bn ($1bn) logistics zone in the north of Riyadh in September last year, as MEED reported.

    UAE-based Global Engineering Consultants is the project consultant.

    The logistics hub aims to meet the demand for customised warehouses located near King Khalid International airport and the Riyadh Metro.

    The project is in line with Vision 2030 and the National Transport & Logistics Strategy, which aims to support the kingdom’s logistics sector and enhance Saudi Arabia’s position as a global logistics hub.

    Sal and Sela signed an agreement to develop the project in March last year.

    This was followed by another lease agreement for the project, which will span about 1.57 million square metres. 

    According to an official statement: “The lease will extend for 30 years, which is further extendable to an additional 15 years upon agreement of both parties.”

    GlobalData expects the kingdom’s construction industry to record an annual average growth rate of 5.2% in 2025-28, supported by investments in transport, electricity, housing and tourism infrastructure projects, as well as the $850bn-plus gigaprojects programme.

    Growth will also be supported by government investments in rail, dams, industrial and road infrastructure projects. 

    The industrial sector is estimated to grow by 3.3% in 2025-28, supported by investments in the development of manufacturing, logistics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals plants.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16026154/main.gif
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Jabal Omar plans next phase of its Mecca development

    18 March 2026

    Saudi Arabian developer Jabal Omar Development Company is carrying out planning for phase seven of its Jabal Omar master development in Mecca, according to a fourth-quarter 2025 financial presentation.

    The company said phase seven will be a mixed-use scheme comprising hotels, retail and residential components, but did not disclose a breakdown of the project elements.

    Jabal Omar plans to use a development partnership model for the phase to minimise capital expenditure.

    Separately, the developer said it is targeting the delivery of 1,346 hotel keys and more than 20,000 square metres of gross leasing area in phase four by 2027.

    Rotana Jabal Omar Makkah, comprising 655 keys, is due to be fully operational in the first quarter of 2026, after 450 keys began operating in the final week of December 2025.

    The 1,141-key Sofitel is scheduled to become operational in the fourth quarter of 2026, while the 20,000 square metres of gross leasable area is expected to be ready in 2027.

    Jabal Omar estimates its 2026 capital expenditure at SR1.1bn ($293m), with spending expected to fall once the phase four hotels are completed.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16026145/main.png
    Yasir Iqbal