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The UAE Iceberg Project is reportedly progressing, with plans to complete by 2020
1 July 2018
| Last updated on 14 January 2020
Last year, news broke that a UAE firm had plans to tow icebergs from Antartica to the shores of Fujairah.
The news was quickly denied by the UAE's Ministry of Energy as they dismissed it as a rumour. Fast-forward to 2018 however, and it seems the initial 'rumours' are no longer just that.
Announced today by The National Advisor Buraeu Limited, the website for the UAE Iceberg Project has been launched to help highlight the most significant stages of the project, and its intended benefits to the environment and the economy reports news agency WAM.
Why do we need icebergs in the UAE?
The Abu Dhabi-based eco firm revealed their plans to tow icebergs from Antarctica last year, and with the launch of the UAE Iceberg Project's website, it seems the project is progressing towards its end goal in 2020.
The UAE Iceberg Project aims to leverage icebergs as new sources of pure water in the region.
In an interview last year with Gulf News, Abdullah Mohammad Sulaiman Al Shehi, Managing Director of National Advisor Bureau Limited in Masdar City, shared that an average, large iceberg can contain over 20 billion gallons of water.
That's enough for one million people for over five years!
How will the UAE Iceberg Project work?
WAM news agency has reported that a scientific committee has now been set-up, which consists of scientists, experts and specialists in the nature of Antarctica, icebergs and marine science. A collaboration with water research centres and universities worldwide has also been initiated as part of the project.
The National Advisor Bureau Limited is currently developing a unique technology, which would reduce project costs, ensure zero ice melting during the transportation phase, and facilitate water-transfer processes to costumers at minimal costs.
Reportedly now, the cost of the project is estimated to be a whopping US$50-60million.
Detailed of the advanced technology are expected to be officially announced later in 2018.
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The pilot phase of the project will kick-off during the second half of 2019 towards the coast of Perth in Australia, or the coast of Cape Town in South Africa. It will be followed by the necessary steps to tow the icebergs to the eastern coast of the UAE during the first quarter of 2020.
It seems then, that icebergs off the coast of Fujairah in the near-future isn't entirely possible. Here's a video, released last year, explaining it all:
The benefits of towing icebergs to the UAE
In true UAE-fashion, it'll surely be another first for the country. Not only would it providea new source of freshwater in the UAE, but the project would place the UAE on the glacial tourism map. It would become the first desert country to offer glacial tourism on its coasts, saving iceberg enthusiasts the trouble of travelling to the North and South Poles.
Not only that, but towing icebergs to the UAE's coastline would contribute to the country's ongoing efforts of increasing rainfall here. The presence of giant icebergs in the waters off the UAE would create 'micro-climates', which would help induce rain in the desert climate.
When hot and cold air meet, it makes severe weather storms such as rain, thunder storms, lightning, hail and even tornadoes in some regions.
The UAE Iceberg Project is also part of a much winder plan by Al Shehi's company, called 'Filling the Empty Quarter Project', which is aimed at bringing greenery back to Rub Al Khali desert.
