ACU AUG-18 3rd DRAFT_08-08-2018

T E C H N O LO G Y
Antarctic icebergs to be towed to the UAE for
drinking water and rain
across a number of fields to reduce
project costs, ensure zero ice melting
during the transportation phase and
finally to deliver potable water to
consumers in the UAE at minimal
costs.
Al Shehi said once the icebergs are
brought to Fujairah a special process
would be used to chip away the
icebergs to the shore where they
would be melted and treated at a
water processing plant before being
stored in industrial-sized water tanks
for bottling in a large commercial
facility.
The iceberg project could also bring
DUBAI: Many fantasies became
realities in Dubai in the United Arab
Emirates and another first may
happen here with an Emirati
businessman's proposal to haul by
2020 leviathan icebergs from the
Heard Island in the South Pole to the
coast of Fujairah, one of the seven
emirates in the UAE.
The grandiose plan
estimated to cost US$50
million is aimed at melting
the pure polar ice water for
drinking water and create
rains by attracting the
clouds over the Arabian Sea
to the center of the
icebergs, thus, creating a
vortex that will cause
rainfalls, the UAE-Iceberg
Project announced.
More than 20 billion gallons
of water can be made from
an average large iceberg,
enough for five years'
consumption of about a
million people, according to
the National Adviser Bureau
Limited, a private firm
connected with the project.
A trial run is scheduled for 2019 to
float an iceberg to Australia or
DUMMY
alternatively the southern coast of
South Africa for the 12,000-km
journey from the Antarctic to the
UAE, said Abdullah Mohammad
Sulaiman Al Shehi, founder of the
UAE-Iceberg Project and Managing
Director of the National Adviser
Bureau Limited.
Al Shehi, an electronics and electrical
engineer in the oil and gas industry, is
known for his out of the box ideas.
After completing his studies in the
UK, he traveled from London to Abu
Dhabi by road and sea for 53 days. He
later founded the Geowash concept
(Q2Wash) which uses less water in
washing cars.
The Emirates State News Agency
WAM reported the launch of the
project coincides with the Year of
Zayed, the founding father of the UAE
known for his global humanitarian
work.
The UAE-Iceberg Project says it's
working on new technology along
w i t h s c i e n t i s t s , e x p e r t s a n d
specialists on icebergs and marine
science along with universities
worldwide.
I t s a y s i t i s working o n n e w
technology to make the project
Abdulla Alshehi
side benefits to the UAE such as
drawing tourists to the country who
want to see the spectacle of huge ice
monuments floating offshore.
Flotillas of icebergs from the Arctic,
f o r e x a m p l e , r o u t i n e l y d r i f t
southward in the Atlantic Ocean past
cities such as St John's, Newfoundland,
down the eastern coast of
Canada and draw tourists every year.
The presence of new giant icebergs in
waters off the UAE would also create
micro-climates and would help bring
more rain to the arid landscape,
“The project would place the UAE on
the glacial tourism map as the first
desert country to offer glacial
tourism on its coasts, saving iceberg
enthusiasts the trouble of travelling
to the North and South Poles,” Al
Shehi said.