Earlier this year, a mandate was given that all projects by the Ajman Municipality must be submitted in a BIM software. Engineer Maha Khalifa Al Jarrah, head of building permits section at Ajman Municipality stated in media reports that the building department under Ajman Municipality had conducted a survey in the market to assist during BIM implementation, as well as assess how the percentage of BIM adoption increases every year once it is mandated.

“We are talking about generative design and data analytics here – and so far only Dubai has mandated BIM – so I think it’s a great step for Ajman Municipality and a very strategic road map starting from the basics and going beyond BIM are being put in place. We started last year and by the end of this year we will be mandating that all the projects be submitted through BIM. So, by then, our system will be prepared for the new shift and we will also be hiring a BIM consultant.”

Meanwhile, The UAE BIM Association (UBA) will be signing an MoU with Ajman Municipality and in terms of partnership will provide the knowledge, expertise and awareness sessions for consultants, contractors and developers to explain the benefits of BIM to the entire supply chain. Hassan Helmy, co-founder at UBA explained to MECN that they are a non-profit organisation supporting government agencies in the UAE and in the region for BIM implementation and adoption.

“Our of our key strategic objective is to bring everybody to the table, so we are collaborating not only with government agencies, but the private sector and public sector including consultants, contractors and developers while sharing knowledge and exploring challenges.” “One of the obstacles faced while implementing BIM is the lack of requirement from clients. But, I believe, as it had happened in other parts of the world, once BIM is mandated by the government, this will open up the entire eco-system.”

He added that Ajman Municipality will be soon releasing an RFP for BIM consultants to support its initiative and form standards, BIM implementation guidelines and the roadmap design. This is the key step in moving forward, he concluded.