Saudi Arabian developer Red Sea Global has signed a 25-year concession agreement with French utility EDF and the UAE-based clean energy company Masdar to power luxury development Amaala.
A 4,000-square-kilometre integrated wellness destination within the Red Sea Global development, Amaala will be powered entirely by solar energy, saving the equivalent of nearly half a million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions every year, Red Sea Global said in a statement on Monday.
Amaala's utility infrastructure includes an off-grid renewable energy system powered by PV technology, a battery energy storage solution, and desalination and wastewater treatment plants that are powered by clean energy.
“Sustainability is a cornerstone of Amaala, and our new partnership with EDF and Masdar will drive us towards achieving a zero-carbon footprint once fully operational,” said John Pagano, group chief executive of Red Sea Global.
Amaala’s renewable supply system can generate up to 410,000 megawatt-hours a year, enough to power 10,000 households for 12 months, said the Riyadh-based multi-project developer that is also behind luxury ecotourism development The Red Sea.
The battery storage plant has a capacity of 700 megawatt-hours, while the desalination plant can process up to 37 million litres per day, it added.
The contract follows an independent public-private partnership model, covering the design, construction and operation of the utility systems.
The project will "help drive sustainable economic development" to Amaala, said Mohamed Al Ramahi, chief executive of Masdar.
“Saudi Arabia is a key strategic market for Masdar and as a leading renewable energy company and long-standing partner, we are committed to playing an important role in supporting the country’s Vision 2030 Strategy,” he said.
Last year, Masdar opened a new office in Riyadh to manage projects that are part of the kingdom’s plan to boost renewable energy capacity by 2030.
Masdar aims to expand its capacity to at least 100 gigawatts of renewable energy by the end of the decade. The company is active in more than 40 countries and has invested in or committed to projects worth more than $30 billion.
The world’s biggest oil exporter aims to generate 50 per cent of its electricity from clean energy sources by the end of the decade and plans to invest more than $180 billion to cut its carbon emissions to net zero by 2060.
“With more than 90 per cent of its electricity production decarbonised, the EDF group is pursuing its ambition to contribute to reach carbon neutrality by 2050,” said Beatrice Buffon, group executive vice president in charge of EDF’s International Division.
“Our objective is to continue to be a key player in the development of innovative, fully resilient and net-zero electrical systems.”
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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- Don’t do it more than once in three days
- Don’t go under 700 calories on fasting days
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- Ensure there is enough roughage (fibre) in the food on fasting days as well
- Do not binge on processed or fatty foods on non-fasting days
- Complement fasting with plant-based foods, fruits, vegetables, seafood. Cut out processed meats and processed carbohydrates
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Volvo ES90 Specs
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if you go
The flights
Etihad, Emirates and Singapore Airlines fly direct from the UAE to Singapore from Dh2,265 return including taxes. The flight takes about 7 hours.
The hotel
Rooms at the M Social Singapore cost from SG $179 (Dh488) per night including taxes.
The tour
Makan Makan Walking group tours costs from SG $90 (Dh245) per person for about three hours. Tailor-made tours can be arranged. For details go to www.woknstroll.com.sg
SNAPSHOT
While Huawei did launch the first smartphone with a 50MP image sensor in its P40 series in 2020, Oppo in 2014 introduced the Find 7, which was capable of taking 50MP images: this was done using a combination of a 13MP sensor and software that resulted in shots seemingly taken from a 50MP camera.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
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From: Lonely Loris is a Sunda slow loris, one of nine species of the animal native to Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore
Status: Critically endangered, and listed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature red list due to growing demand in the global exotic pet trade. It is one of the most popular primate species found at Indonesian pet markets
Likes: Sleeping, which they do for up to 18 hours a day. When they are awake, they like to eat fruit, insects, small birds and reptiles and some types of vegetation
Dislikes: Sunlight. Being a nocturnal animal, the slow loris wakes around sunset and is active throughout the night
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
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Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
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Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
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It's Monty Python's Crashing Rocket Circus
To the theme tune of the famous zany British comedy TV show, SpaceX has shown exactly what can go wrong when you try to land a rocket.
The two minute video posted on YouTube is a compilation of crashes and explosion as the company, created by billionaire Elon Musk, refined the technique of reusable space flight.
SpaceX is able to land its rockets on land once they have completed the first stage of their mission, and is able to resuse them multiple times - a first for space flight.
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