Key contractor selection criteria for green construction projects in the UAE

Selecting the appropriate contractor is of paramount importance to the success of any construction project. This is even more important to green construction projects. There is a noticeable surge in the number of green construction projects. Green construction projects require contractors that have certain capabilities in addition to the traditional capabilities. This article highlights the key criteria for selecting contractors for green construction projects. Twenty criteria were identified based on literature review. These criteria were categorized into five groups: firm characteristics, firm record, commercial and technical bid, environmental and socio-economic. A survey was then developed and sent to professionals from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The respondents evaluated the selection criteria using pair-wise comparison using the Analytic Hierarchy Process. Forty-eight responses were collected. The results show that the top five criteria are the bid price, energy management, technical bid, proposed time and water management. The results show that sustainability-related criteria (environmental and socio-economic groups) are important with a combined weight of 0.386.