Jordon launches Sahara Forest Project

September 9, 2017

Jordan, a water-poor country that is 90% desert, has launched Sahara Forest Project near the southern port city of Aqaba to turn desert land into farming land to produce food using sun and sea water.
The project seeks to demonstrate innovative application of technology to revolutionize our land systems in a way that benefits the climate, people, and businesses. It is funded by Norway and European Union.

Key Facts

Sahara Forest Project aims to provide fresh water, food and renewable energy in hot, arid regions as well as re-vegetating areas of uninhabited desert. It combines saltwater-cooled greenhouses with solar power technologies, and technologies for desert revegetation.
In the first stage, the project aims to produce up to 130 tonnes of organic vegetables annually from area size of four football pitches. It will also produce fresh water. It will use solar panels to provide power and include outdoor planting space, water desalination unit, two saltwater-cooled greenhouses and salt ponds for salt production. In later stages, it is expanded to be expanded from three hectares to around 200 hectares of desert.