Agreement Reached to Develop Sustainable Food Supply Using Sunlight in W. Saudi Arabia

The Red Sea Development Company partners with Red Sea Farms to develop a sustainable food supply for The Red Sea’s flagship destination using sunlight and saltwater. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Red Sea Development Company partners with Red Sea Farms to develop a sustainable food supply for The Red Sea’s flagship destination using sunlight and saltwater. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Agreement Reached to Develop Sustainable Food Supply Using Sunlight in W. Saudi Arabia

The Red Sea Development Company partners with Red Sea Farms to develop a sustainable food supply for The Red Sea’s flagship destination using sunlight and saltwater. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Red Sea Development Company partners with Red Sea Farms to develop a sustainable food supply for The Red Sea’s flagship destination using sunlight and saltwater. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Red Sea Development Company (TRSDC), the developer behind the world’s most ambitious regenerative tourism project, has partnered with Red Sea Farms, a Saudi Arabian AgTech business, to develop a sustainable food supply for The Red Sea’s flagship destination using sunlight and saltwater.

Red Sea Farms will build and operate the indoor farm, growing crops to sustainably feed guests and residents at The Red Sea Project. It will become the main supplier to the luxury destination’s resorts and restaurants.

CEO of TRSDC John Pagano said: “At TRSDC we believe in embracing innovations to solve the challenges we face as we attempt to improve our relationship with the environment. Red Sea Farms’ technology is novel, exciting and has the possibility of helping to tackle food scarcity globally.”

“This partnership means we’re meeting our own sustainable and regenerative ambitions,” he added.

The innovative technology uses sunlight and saltwater to cool greenhouses and grow crops, instead of relying on rainfall, fresh groundwater, or desalinated water.

This saves up to 300 liters of freshwater per kilogram of produce – a 95 percent saving compared with other AgTech systems.

The technology has been designed and developed in Saudi Arabia for use in often challenging environmental conditions.

This means a reduced impact on the environment and a significant cost saving for growers. It also results in more nutritious crops, while also providing a richer taste, flavor, and texture.

By 2023, The Red Sea Project will welcome 300,000 guests annually and upwards of 14,000 employees, and once fully operational in 2030, up to one million guests per year and home to around 35,000 employees.

Feeding this many people in a remote, largely desert environment presents huge logistical challenges.

TRSDC has set aside a 50 square hectare food development area and is inviting leading companies from around the world to set up production facilities, as well as pilots of cutting-edge food technologies that can someday be used on a commercial scale.

The Red Sea Farms indoor farm will produce a diverse range of fresh leafy greens, herbs, vine crops, fruit including berries, and vegetables. Following the pilot, Red Sea Farms will have the option of expanding the farm to up to 100 hectares in the future, which would make it the largest sustainable farm of its kind in the world.

TRSDC also partnered with Blue Planet Ecosystems in a regional first to deliver sustainably produced seafood.

The first phase of the project will be implemented as a 3,500m2 pilot, to assess whether conditions at The Red Sea Project are suitable for the solution to work effectively and efficiently.

This will be the first Land-based Automated Recirculating Aquaculture (LARA) system pilot in the Middle East to undergo a commercial trial.



Gold Prices Hit Records Above $3,300/oz

FILE PHOTO: Gold bars are displayed at a gold jewelry shop in the northern Indian city of Chandigarh May 8, 2012. REUTERS/Ajay Verma/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Gold bars are displayed at a gold jewelry shop in the northern Indian city of Chandigarh May 8, 2012. REUTERS/Ajay Verma/File Photo
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Gold Prices Hit Records Above $3,300/oz

FILE PHOTO: Gold bars are displayed at a gold jewelry shop in the northern Indian city of Chandigarh May 8, 2012. REUTERS/Ajay Verma/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Gold bars are displayed at a gold jewelry shop in the northern Indian city of Chandigarh May 8, 2012. REUTERS/Ajay Verma/File Photo

Gold prices pierced the $3,300 an ounce barrier to hit record highs as investors sought a refuge from the turbulence surrounding trade tensions between the United States and China.
Spot gold hit a record of $3,317.90 per ounce on Wednesday, resuming a rally based on US President Donald Trump's tariff policies, robust central bank buying and prospects of interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, Reuters reported.
"Gold is re-calibrating to reflect the current state of world affairs ... If the price is telling us something, then it’s a distinct warning bell," said independent analyst Ross Norman.
"High conviction buying that commenced about a year ago - likely unreported central bank buying - is being compounded by buying on price strength."
Bullion has gained around 26% so far this year, in a rise that has drawn comparisons with its 1980 rally during the Iranian Revolution, when prices shot up around 118% between November 1979 and January 1980.
Trump on Tuesday rolled out the latest of his tariff policies, ordering an investigation into potential new levies on all US critical minerals imports and other goods.
Gold is traditionally used to hedge against political turmoil.
"Some longer-term gold owners are taking profit at these fresh record highs, but new inflows are also running strong," said Adrian Ash, director of research at BullionVault.
Gold ETFs saw an inflow of 226.5 metric tons, worth $21.1 billion, in the first quarter of 2025, the largest amount since the first quarter of 2022, when markets were grappling with the consequences of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
"ETF demand is the additional new component that had otherwise been missing and is certainly helping to fuel the rise," Norman added.
Gold has also gained from the lower dollar, near a three-year low, making bullion a more attractive investment for other currency holders.
"The next milestone for gold is $3,500. Expect that before too long," Norman added.
Central bank buying has further buoyed gold, with China's central bank adding to its reserves in March for the fifth straight month.
Gold posted 25 all-time highs this year, of which 13 are above the $3,000 level.