The Red Sea Development Company (TRSDC) has partnered with Red Sea Farms, a Saudi Agtech business, to develop a sustainable food supply for The Red Sea’s flagship destination using sunlight and saltwater.
Red Sea Farms will build and operate the indoor farm, growing crops to sustainably feed guests and residents at The Red Sea Project. It will become a main supplier to the luxury destination’s resorts and restaurants.
The innovative technology uses sunlight and saltwater to cool greenhouses and grow crops, instead of relying on rainfall, fresh groundwater, or desalinated water. This saves up to 300 liters of fresh water per kilogram of produce – a 95 percent saving compared with other AgTech systems. The technology has been designed and developed in Saudi Arabia for use in often challenging environmental conditions.
This means a reduced impact on the environment and a significant cost saving for growers. It also results in more nutritious crops while also providing a richer taste, flavor and texture.
This is the first time an agreement has been reached to roll out the technology on such a large scale in Saudi Arabia and makes TRSDC the first organization to recognize its commercial potential.
By 2023, The Red Sea Project will welcome 300,000 guests annually and upwards of 14,000 employees and once fully operational in 2030, up to one million guests per year and home to around 35,000 employees. Feeding this many people in a remote, largely desert environment presents huge logistical challenges. By working with Red Sea Farms, TRSDC is developing a self-sustaining and ecologically friendly food supply, which will be built within TRSDC’s wider sustainable food park zone.
TRSDC has set aside a 50 square hectare food development area and is inviting leading companies from around the world to set up production facilities as well as pilots of cutting-edge food technologies that can someday be used on a commercial scale.
The Red Sea Farms indoor farm will produce a diverse range of fresh leafy greens, herbs, vine crops, fruit including berries; and vegetables. Following the pilot, Red Sea Farms will have the option of expanding the farm to up to 100 hectares in the future, which would make it the largest sustainable farm of its kind in the world.
TRSDC also partnered with Blue Planet Ecosystems in a regional first to deliver sustainably produced seafood. The first phase of the project will be implemented as a 3.500m2 pilot, to assess whether conditions at The Red Sea Project are suitable for the solution to work effectively and efficiently. This will be the first Land-based Automated Recirculating Aquaculture (LARA) system pilot in the Middle East to undergo a commercial trial.
