UAE slated to be first desert nation to offer glacial tourism
National Advisor Bureau Limited, a United Arab Emirates (UAE) firm, has launched an official website for a project to tow icebergs from Antarctica to the UAE coasts during the first quarter of 2020 “to leverage them as new sources of water in the region”.
The National Advisor Bureau Ltd put forward the UAE-Iceberg Project to highlight the upcoming stages and benefits in environment and economy. The project is estimated to cost $50-60 million.
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.
The company 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 customers at minimal costs.
A scientific committee is now being set up consisting of scientists, experts, and specialists in the nature of Antarctica, icebergs and marine science, in addition to initiating collaboration with water research centres and universities worldwide. The company 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. The details of the advanced technology are expected to be officially announced during the fourth quarter of this year.
The icebergs are expected to cause a unique climatic phenomenon as the cold icebergs would attract the clouds over the Arabian Sea to the centre of the icebergs, thus creating a vortex that will cause rainfall. It will also assist in providing fresh water to the region, making the UAE a hub for exporting water to the world.