The Red Sea Project
The Red Sea Project
مشروع البحر الأحمر | |
---|---|
tourism destination | |
Country | Saudi Arabia |
Announced | July 2017 |
Government | |
• CEO | John Pagano[1] |
Area | |
• Total | 28,000 km2 (11,000 sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+03 (Arabian Standard Time) |
Website | www |
Red Sea Project is a land and property development announced by the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman in July 2017. It is planned to be established on the Saudi Arabian Red Sea coast. The project is focused on tourism, hoping to attract tourists to visit and explore the Saudi western coast.[2][3] The mega project is expected to increase the Saudi GDP by $5.86 billion per year upon completion, when it will cover 28,000 km2 (11,000 sq mi) of islands, beaches, desert, mountains and volcanic areas.[4][5] The first phase is expected to be completed by 2022 when 3,000 hotel rooms will be constructed along with an airport, marina and recreation centers.[6] The project is led by the Red Sea Development Company (TRSDC).[7] It is expected to attract one million people every year.[8] Upon completion, the project will create 70,000 new jobs.
Location
The project will be located at Tabuk province's shores of the Red Sea, particularly between the cities of Umluj and Al-Wajh. Ninety unspoiled offshore islands between the two cities will also be part of the project.[9]
Phase one
In 2019, the first phase of the project is planned to be completed by 2022 and it will include the following facilities:
- 14 luxury and hyper-luxury hotels
- Marinas, leisure and lifestyle amenities
- An airport[10]
Ecological considerations
The project is planned in a way that considers the natural ecosystem of the area. Thus, a number of policies have been developed in this regards as follows:
- No waste-to-landfill
- No discharges to the sea
- No use of single use plastic
- Achieving a 100% carbon neutrality.[10]
However, the project raises new challenges about water consumption, as Saudi Arabia consumes each year four times the water that is naturally renewed, while the resorts will use more than 56,000 cubic meters of water per day.[11] Power is to be supplied by 210 MW of solar and wind power, with fluctuations balanced by a 1000 MWh battery.[12]
See also
References
- ^ "Construction underway on Red Sea project site". Saudigazette. Feb 27, 2019. Retrieved Aug 21, 2020.
- ^ "Saudi Arabia's Red Sea Project Marks a Milestone with Incorporation | Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia, London". saudiembassyuk.co.uk. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
- ^ "Red Sea Project, Largest of Its Kind in Saudi Arabia". albawaba.com. 14 February 2019. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
- ^ Bridge, Sam. "Red Sea Project set to add $5.8bn to Saudi Arabia's GDP". ArabianBusiness.com. Retrieved 2019-02-22.
- ^ "Saudi says mega Red Sea project 'on track' to complete phase 1 in 2022". Gulf Business. 2018-12-16. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
- ^ "King Salman given update on progress of Red Sea Project". Arab News. 2018-12-12. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
- ^ "Construction underway on Red Sea project site". Saudigazette. 2019-02-27. Retrieved 2019-02-27.
- ^ Bridge, Sam. "Red Sea Project set to add $5.8bn to Saudi Arabia's GDP". ArabianBusiness.com. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
- ^ "Vision 2030: All you need to know about Saudi Arabia's giga-projects". Arab News. 2019-05-07. Retrieved 2019-05-31.
- ^ a b "Saudi Arabia's Red Sea project ensures protection of ecology". Arab News. 2019-01-23. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
- ^ Michaelson, Ruth (2019-08-06). "Oil built Saudi Arabia – will a lack of water destroy it?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-08-22.
- ^ "Huge luxury Saudi resort goes 100pct renewables with one of world's biggest batteries". One Step Off The Grid. 2020-11-17.