UAE all set to tow icebergs from Antarctica to meet demand for water

UAE is also aiming to be the first and only desert country in the world to be on the glacial tourism map.

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At a time when several cities around the world are facing the possibility of water taps running dry, the threat is even more severe for desert cities in the United Arab Emirates. Here, water is a scarce community already but all that may soon change with the country planning to tow massive icebergs to meet demand for water.

In a project of huge proportions and one with even bigger implications, UAE's National Advisor Bureau recently announced that the UAE-Iceberg Project is considering the prospect of towing icebergs from Antartica to supply water to its cities. As part of the preparations, a scientific committee is being assembled with experts from a range of diverse fields ready to study the feasibility of such a massive endeavour.

Local media has reported that the cost of the project could be at approximately US $60 million and may launch by the second half of 2019. The icebergs could be taken to either Perth in Australia or Cape Town in South Africa from where they would be shipped to the UAE by the first quarter of 2020.

As a side note, the country is also exploring the prospect of developing iceberg tourism for enthusiasts who cannot afford to go to the North or South Poles. In this, UAE could become the first and only desert country on the glacial tourist map.