A company from the United Arab Emirates plans in 2020 to deliver icebergs to the country's shores from Antarctica.
National Advisor Bureau Limited announced the launch of a project under which icebergs from Antarctica will be towed to the shores of the emirate of Fujairah, UAE.
In 2017, when the project was first discussed, the company said that this step could cause significant climate change in the region - for example, year-round showers.
According to the National Advisor Bureau Limited, the launch was dedicated to the Year of Zayed in 2018. The project serves as a response to drought worldwide and aims to support humanitarian projects related to water scarcity.
“We have been working hard on the project over the past year and are moving on to the next stage,” said Abdullah Mohammed Suleiman Al Shehi, managing director of the company.
"Patents for the technology were filed in the UK - some related to towing, others to reducing the melting speed during delivery," he said.
According to local media, the project is projected to cost between $ 50 and $ 60 million.
It is expected that the pilot phase of the project will begin in the second half of 2019 with the transportation of the iceberg to the coast of Australia or South Africa. The company plans to tow the first iceberg in the UAE in the first quarter of 2020.
A scientific committee is currently being created, consisting of scientists, experts, specialists who will collaborate with research centers and universities around the world.
The Antarctic ice sheet is the largest ice mass on Earth with ten thousand trillion tons of snow and ice, which contain most of the world's fresh water.
