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Kazakhstan's electricity generation depends heavily on fossil fuels. Renewables and other non-fossil resources provide potential alternatives to diversify the electricity generation system. In this paper, various potential local non-fossil fuel resources, hydro, solar, wind, biomass and uranium are reviewed and an assessment framework for prioritizing these resources is established. A multi-criteria decision making approach, analytic hierarchy process (AHP) based on expert opinion, is utilized for developing the assessment model, using four main criteria of technical, economic, social and environmental aspects and thirteen sub-criteria. The review reveal that Kazakhstan has ample potential to develop a non-fossil fuel based electricity system. Furthermore, the model shows hydro to be the most favorable resource followed by solar; wind and nuclear are ranked third and fourth, respectively while biomass is found to be the least attractive option. It is also found that each resource is inclined towards a particular criterion; hydro towards social, solar towards economic, nuclear towards technical, with biomass and wind directed towards environmental. Besides reporting the use of the AHP model for the first time in the Kazakhstan context, the assessment carried out in this paper can assist decision-makers to articulate long-term energy policy for any country.

In order to improve communication on a construction site, this research focuses on the use of Building Information Modeling (BIM) in site management for material and progress control in Hong Kong. Components of site management as well as the suitable aspects of applying BIM in site management were identified. Case studies of BIM implementation on two construction projects were presented. Interviews were arranged with BIM professionals, including consultants and contractors. The limitations of adopting BIM on site management were also analyzed. The results and analysis showed that the application of BIM in material and progress control was mainly for quantity takeoff, construction sequence optimization and provision of knowledge database. This database encouraged interaction between parties because an informative BIM model could not be produced by just one party. The findings show that the visualization from BIM 3D/4D model helps engineers or planners to become more confident about real happenings on the construction site. It can also help to identify and resolve the material and progress control related problems before construction commences.

Kazakhstan is the largest greenhouse gas emitter in Central Asia. The country has a significant renewable energy potential from solar, wind, hydro and biomass. Despite this, very small amounts of alternative energy sources have been used. Renewable sources such as wind, solar, small hydro and bioenergy currently contribute less than 1% of the country's energy mix. The building sector in Kazakhstan accounts for 30% of final energy consumption. In this regard, the role of the construction industry is extremely important due to its significant share in energy consumption and carbon emissions. This paper presents the results of the development of Kazakhstan's Building Sustainability Assessment framework. Stepwise weight assessment ratio analysis (SWARA) method was employed to calculate and allocate weights of assessment categories and indicators in the assessment framework. The reliability of the developed framework was validated by comparing its performance sensitivity with fours rating systems, namely, BREEAM, LEED, CASBEE, and SBTool for the categories of the proposed framework. The output of the research can produce a useful reference to the green building policymakers in the country. Also, the proposed framework can be adapted for use in Kazakhstan’s neighboring countries which share similar climatic zones and conditions.