Egypt's New Farm City Will House 50,000 Smart Greenhouses
A new agricultural city will be constructed in Egypt after an agreement between the country and South Korea was made for $10 billion. It'll provide over 300,000 acres of greenhouses and renewable energy sources.
Updated May 26 2019, 11:42 a.m. ET
Egypt and South Korea are teaming up to build a large agricultural complex that’s full of renewable energy and smart greenhouses. The new city will be located in Egypt near the Mediterranean shore. With the massive growth of middle-class consumers coming into the country over the next decade, this new area will provide a wealth of sustainability.
The deal between Egypt and the South Korean Korea-Arab Society (KAS) was signed back on August 15th and is worth around $10 billion USD. Across over 311,400 acres of land, there will be 50,000 smart greenhouses, desalination and solar power plants, and they will specifically be cultivating stevia. This product is a healthy substitute for sugar, being sweeter and doesn’t raise blood sugar like other sweeteners.
All facilities will be located in the Qattara Depression, which is northwest of Egypt. Because it’s in the second lowest point of Africa, the area is rich with fertile soil from the Nile Delta. This will be the fuel for all the smart greenhouses in the area.
Production of the sustainable city will be overseen by South Korea and should be finished within six months. According to PSFK, Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail says that, “construction of the project will make use of modern technologies to ensure the development process will be as sustainable as possible.”
The Egyptian Government has created Vision 2030, which features developmental plans that are in line with the Sustainable Development Goals among the United Nations. These SDGs involve numerous issues that are hoping to be fixed by 2030, such as increasing clean energy and water, lowering carbon emissions, and much more.
Egypt is dealing with many issues, such as high birth rate, limited water, discrimination, and migration that stand in the way of achieving their sustainable goals. They will have one of the fastest growing middle-class markets according to Ogilvy, and this new city would provide a sustainable solution for the boost.
No further details have been released on the facility, such has how many solar panels will be installed, capacity numbers, and everything that will be grown in the large amount of greenhouses in the area. It’ll be exciting to see how this area accelerates Egypt’s SDGs in the future.
