Saudi Arabia should construct a massive man-made lake in its wild Empty Quarter desert to exploit Gulf water in fishing, farming, tourism and other sectors that could create thousands of jobs, a Saudi researcher has proposed.
Mohammed bin Hassan Al Mubarak said he had presented his proposal to the Saudi ministry of agriculture which has studied the project and recommended support for it from all government departments.
The lake could have an area of nearly 312 square kilo0metres, nearly half Bahrain’s area, and will be fed through canals to be constructed across the desert from the Gulf coastline southeast of Qatar, said Al Mubarak from the King Abdul Aziz University for Science and Technology.
Quoted by the Saudi Alriyadh newspaper, he said the lake could be constructed south of Saudi-UAE border in the Rub Al Khali (Empty Quarter) desert, the most barren and wildest desert on earth, with an area of around 650,000 square kilometer, more than 25 per cent of Saudi Arabia’s area.
“There are no geographical or natural obstacles for this project as the proposed location is the lowest area in the desert…it is around 26 metres below sea level and this means the water can be pumped easily through the ducts to that area.”
He said the project canals would not have any impact on Saudi Arabia’s hydrocarbon industry as there are no oil sites there.
“The project will have many benefits as it will give rise to fishing industry and cultivation plants that live on salt water,” he said.
“It will also lessen the rate of drainage in underground water, stabilize desertification and allow the Kingdom to utilize it in tourism by constructing beaches and hotels…the project could also be beneficial to the oil industry as water could be used in injection in fields…all these projects man that there will be more than 300,000 jobs for Saudis.”
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