BEYOND VALUE ENGINEERING: BUILDING EFFICIENCY THROUGH SMARTER DESIGN 

By Amir H Greiss Founder & CEO, SharpMinds Consulting Engineers

A Region Building at Scale

Across the Middle East, construction is advancing at a pace that reflects both the scale of regional ambition and the complexity of delivering it. The project pipeline has grown to over $4 trillion, with Saudi Arabia alone accounting for a $1.5 trillion backlog of unawarded work, according to real estate consultancy JLL. The appetite for development is clear. Translating that into consistent delivery performance, however, remains a work in progress.

A 2025 PwC survey of capital projects and infrastructure professionals found that 81% of respondents experienced cost overruns in the past year. Separate research by Alvarez & Marsal puts the figure even higher, with 85% of projects in the MENA region running over budget, averaging 28% above initial estimates. Timelines present a similar picture: on average, regional projects take 83% longer than planned, compared to a 68% overrun globally. These are patterns that point to structural challenges within the delivery process, not isolated incidents.

Smarter Design Delivers More Efficient Buildings

Efficiency in construction is not primarily a procurement issue, it happens during design phase. A building that proves expensive to construct was typically costly from its earliest concept as it simply takes a quantity survey and several months to surface that reality.

Engineers and architects who consistently deliver within budget tend to achieve this through considered decisions at concept stage: a sound understanding of structural logic, selection of systems that perform over time, and early stress-testing of assumptions before they are embedded in working drawings.

Dubai’s January 2024 mandate requiring Building Information Modelling (BIM) for certain building permit applications reflects a growing regulatory recognition of this principle. BIM integrates coordination and clash detection into the design process rather than leaving those issues to be resolved on-site, where corrections carry significantly higher costs. The underlying logic holds beyond software: investing analytical effort early in a project is consistently more economical than addressing challenges during construction.

Understanding Client Priorities at Design Stage Pays Off

Client alignment is equally important and, at present, not always given sufficient attention. Cost overruns in the region are frequently linked to owner-imposed variations. PwC’s 2025 survey identified these as the fourth most common driver of overruns, cited by 35% of respondents changes requested mid-construction by clients who were not fully engaged during the design phase.

This is not solely a client challenge. It also reflects an industry dynamic in which the brief is sometimes treated as an administrative step rather than a genuine discovery process. When a client’s core priorities operational flexibility, tenant experience, future adaptability  are understood and embedded in the design from the outset, late-stage changes become less frequent and considerably less costly when they do arise.

The Long-Term Return on Investment Case

Lifecycle value is another dimension that warrants greater attention in regional project conversations. The growing emphasis on sustainability certifications from LEED to Estidama is beginning to orient some projects toward longer-term thinking. The UAE alone hosts the highest concentration of LEED-certified buildings globally, with over 2,100 green-certified structures.

Smarter design does not mean more expensive design. It means design where complexity is purposeful where every material choice, structural system, and mechanical specification has been evaluated against performance criteria and long-term operational reality.

Addressing the Challenges at the Right Stage

The factors constraining project performance in the region are broadly understood: insufficient early-stage coordination, limited client engagement during design, and decisions that are not adequately tested against long-term operational needs. The greater opportunity lies in addressing these consistently at the stage where it is most effective before construction begins, rather than during it.

With the regional construction market projected to reach over $712 billion by 2033, the demands placed on project teams will continue to grow. Meeting those demands means establishing stronger processes around design quality, client alignment, and lifecycle performance not as aspirational targets, but as standard practice. The evidence for why this matters already exists. The next step is applying it with greater consistency across the industry.