SUSTG.com / Research

Discover stories, topics, and more about Saudi Arebia faster.

Recent stories from sustg

MUST-READS

  • Inside Marafy, Saudi Arabia’s futuristic megacity with a London-like waterfront

    Saudi Arabia has big plans for the future. Coming soon is another megacity. It will boast of a grand waterfront similar to the one in London. To be called Marafy, it will be built north of Jeddah. Marafy is the second such futuristic city planned for the kingdom after NEOM, a massive engineering project powered by clean energy without streets or cars. We take a look at what Marafy will look like when ready. Saudi Arabia’s first man-made canal and more Marafy is expected to accommodate 130,000 people. It has been designed with the vision of creating an urban oasis and its highlight will be an 11-kilometre manmade canal. The water body right in the middle of a desert will bring marine life to the heart of the historic city of Jeddah, which has been attracting traders, travellers and pilgrims for centuries. It will be the first man-made canal to be built in Saudi Arabia. The canal, which will be 100-metre wide, will be navigable. It will connect to Obhur Creek and will be surrounded by multiple unique districts, according to a report on Al-Arabiya, an Arabic media channel. The waterfront will be as grand as Chicago, Stockholm, Hamburg, and central London. The waterside districts will be linked to each other and the rest of Jeddah by an inter-model transport system comprising water taxis, buses and a subway. They will also connected to the King Abdulaziz International Airport. The district will have shaded promenades and plazas, with al fresco dining, entertainment venues, parks and landscaping. Modern workspaces and stunning homes inspired by local architectural styles will create new communities, all of which will improve the quality of life, and support a thriving local economy, according to ROSHN Group, a leading real estate developer, who has undertaken the project. The spaces will be created keeping sustainability in mind. The project is expected to boost the economy of Jeddah. Image courtesy: Roshn The facades of the project will be inspired by the historical designs of the Jeddah region. They will reinvented and reinterpreted in the contemporary urban context. The project is expected to provide a big boost to Jeddah’s economy. The development of Marafy by the ROSHN Group comes under the guidance of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The group has been backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF). The cost of the project is not yet known. Also read: What is Saudi Arabia’s giant cube-shaped skyscraper ‘The Mukaab’, the size of 20 Empire State Buildings? A game-changer for Jeddah “Marafy will be a game-changer in the real estate development sector, raising the bar of development in the region, boosting the quality of life, and creating a huge impact in Jeddah,” said David Grover, group CEO of ROSHN Group. ‘It is one of the iconic projects that will put Jeddah on the map of the world-class destination and one of the contributors to achieving VISION 2030 goals of creating a vibrant community and a thriving economy,” he added. The city will accommodate 130,000 people. Image courtesy: Roshn Saudi Arabia’s VISION 2030 Vision 2030 is a government programme launched in 2016 by Mohammed bin Salman with three goals in mind – to diversify the economy, modernise the society and boost the country’s global profile. The Red Sea, a luxury tourism destination, and the $1 trillion megacity NEOM are part of this scheme. NEOM will be a futuristic region in northwest Saudi Arabia, which will be powered by 100 per cent renewable energy. The latest development in the project comprises building a grand hotel complex called Leyja, which will be carved into the walls of a giant canyon, according to a report in The Sun. Though the project is not complete, it is expected to open doors to tourists next year. Also read: Saudi Arabia’s plan to build the tallest structure ever that will run sideways for 120km Kickstarting Vision 2030, MBS said, “Our vision is a strong, thriving and stable Saudi Arabia … with Islam as its constitution and moderation as its method.” The bedrock of Saudi success, he declared, would be “moderation, tolerance, excellence, discipline, equity and transparency,” according to Arab News. With inputs from agencies Join our Whatsapp channel to get the latest global news updates Published on: November 07, 2023 16:11:46 IST

  • Saudi’s SWPC announces financial close of Rabigh-4 Independent Water Plant

    Rabigh-4 is an Independent Water Plant with a capacity of 600,000 m3/day that will be built and operated by the private sector for a period of 25 years from the Commercial Operation Date (Q1, 2026), with the winning consortium comprised of ACWA Power, Almoayyed Group, and Haji Abdullah Alireza Company.

  • Chart: Agriculture Puts Strain on Water Resources in MENA Region

    Agricultural water withdrawal way beyond the limit of renewable freshwater resources is most common today in countries in the Middle East and North Africa. Several other nations, for example Spain, South Africa, South Korea, Pakistan and India, stick out for using up a higher share of their freshwater resources in agriculture than their neighbors. This is according to the FAO Aquastat database, where the latest available year for the data is 2020.

  • What is behind the Arizona-Saudi groundwater controversy?

    The US state of Arizona terminated land leases with a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia's dairy giant Almarai this week, constituting the latest chapter in a battle over groundwater that could affect how the company and others from the Gulf operate. The Riyadh-based Almarai is one of the largest food companies in the Middle East and reported a net profit of $453 million in 2022.

  • Saudi Arabia Announces Prequalified Bidders for Jubail 4 & 6 Independent Water Project

    Saudi Water Partnership Company S.M.L.L.C (SWPC) announced the Prequalified Bidders in respect of the potential development of an Independent Water Project to be designed using Reverse Osmosis seawater desalination technology, Jubail 4 & 6 Independent Water Project. The desalination plant will be located 18 kms south of Jubail Industrial City at the Arabian Gulf Coast, adjacent to the existing plant units (Jubail Phase 1, Jubail Phase 2, Jubail 3A & 3B), in the Eastern Province of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

  • Water-starved Saudi Arabia confronts desalination’s heavy toll

    Solar panels soak up blinding noontime rays that help power a water desalination facility in eastern Saudi Arabia, a step towards making the notoriously emissions-heavy process less environmentally taxing. The Jazlah plant in Jubail city applies the latest technological advances in a country that first turned to desalination more than a century ago, when Ottoman-era administrators enlisted filtration machines for hajj pilgrims menaced by drought and cholera. Lacking lakes, rivers and regular rainfall, Saudi Arabia today relies instead on dozens of facilities that transform water from the Gulf and Red Sea into something potable, supplying cities and towns that otherwise would not survive.

  • Solar farm to power water treatment at Amaala resort in Saudi Arabia

    Red Sea Global (RSG) has signed a 25-year concession agreement with French utility EDF and UAE green energy supplier Masdar on a solar-powered water treatment system for the 3,800-sq-km Amaala luxury tourist project in northwest Saudi Arabia. The two companies will finance, design, build, and operate a solar farm, complete with battery storage system, desalination plant and a wastewater treatment facility.

  • Water-Starved Saudi Confronts Desalination’s Heavy Toll

    Solar panels soak up blinding noontime rays that help power a water desalination facility in eastern Saudi Arabia, a step towards making the notoriously emissions-heavy process less environmentally taxing. The Jazlah plant in Jubail city applies the latest technological advances in a country that first turned to desalination more than a century ago, when Ottoman-era administrators enlisted filtration machines for hajj pilgrims menaced by drought and cholera. Lacking lakes, rivers and regular rainfall, Saudi Arabia today relies instead on dozens of facilities that transform water from the Gulf and Red Sea into something potable, supplying cities and towns that otherwise would not survive.

  • Saudi Arabia launches new Global Water Organization

    The new organization will collaborate with countries to address their water challenges and prioritise water projects on their national agendas. As part of its activities, it envisages the exchange of expertise and advanced technologies to promote innovation in water resource management. High-priority projects will be funded to achieve universal access to water resources and manage them sustainably.

  • Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman launches ‘Global Water Organisation’ in Riyadh

    Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has launched an international “Global Water Organisation” based in Riyadh to enhance global efforts in addressing water challenges. One of the most important goals is to establish quality projects and “facilitate their financing, in an effort to ensure the sustainability of water resources and to enhance access to them for all”, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Monday. “It plans to allow exchange expertise, advance technology, foster innovation and share research and development experiences,” the SPA added. The hashtag “united for water” is widely circulating on social media in the kingdom.