Kuwait Sea City: The Megaproject That Breaks Every Rule

[00:00:00]Many people are fascinated by the idea of reclaiming land and constructing artificial islands for sea cities. Dubai has undertaken several projects along its coast, serving as an inspiration for other nations like Kuwait, which is also building its own sea city.

[00:00:22]In today's video, we will delve into Kuwait Sea City, which is a huge construction project that many feel is impossible to complete. Well, before we say anything else, let's go explore Kuwait's initiative first. As the world's population grows rapidly, every nation is seeking to expand its territory. Dubai success with projects like Serena has inspired many countries to follow suit. Most Middle Eastern countries rely heavily on crude oil, including Kuwait. However, in recent times, Kuwait has adopted a more progressive mindset and set of rules, transforming it into an attractive place to [music] visit and live. It's worth remembering that Kuwait has faced numerous challenges, including wars and economic downturns on its journey. It's a country that has endured a lot.

[00:01:13]Kuwait, a vast desert covered in sand across its entire expanse, experiences extreme temperatures for months on end.

[00:01:21]In ancient times, people often constructed their homes along the coast, and some even built seaside farmhouses to escape the sweltering heat, particularly during the summers. This is when Khaled Al- Marzuk, a prominent business figure, envisioned aiding his country by expanding the coastline through the creation of a sea city. Over three decades [music] ago, Khalid Al- Marzuk embarked on an ambitious plan to develop Kuwait through this sea city project. This initiative aimed to enhance Kuwait's real estate industry and facilitate housing development.

[00:01:56]Nearly three decades have passed and the project is still in progress with its official inauguration taking place in December 17th, 2009 under the patronage of HH Amir Shik Sabah al Ahmad. As we are all aware, the Arabian Gulf has faced significant challenges in recent years. However, Kuwait has initiated a project aimed at revitalizing the condition of the sea. This particular project we're discussing is situated in the southern part of Kuwait. Land reclamation in the sea is neither environmentally friendly nor straightforward, especially for a smaller country. Some time ago, a tidal creek was discovered between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, prompting Kuwait to construct tidal gates for the development of the sea city. While most sea projects involve extending land into the sea, this [music] project involves bringing the sea onto the land.

[00:02:52]According to current project details, approximately 6 mi of water have been redirected inland. Sabah al- Amad C city was a grand vision of Khaled Al- Marzuk which is now overseen by his son Kuri.

[00:03:06]His son established the La Alla Al Kuwait real estate company in the early 1990s and collaborated with a British contractor to turn the sea city project into a reality. The Sea City located in Al Kuwait features a network of canals within its boundaries. Since much of Kuwait's coastline is already inhabited, they have constructed 200 kilometers of artificial shoreline. Presently, 84 km of this artificial shoreline have been fully developed, which now houses both visitors and residents. In terms of its capacity, the city is designed to accommodate around 250,000 individuals comfortably. Now, let's delve a bit more into the background of Mr. Fawaz Khaled Almer Zuk. He has a strong passion for architecture and has played a significant role in various Kuwait projects including the Laal Allah al- Marzu complex, the Islamic Medical Center, Kuwait's first multi-story car park, and even the establishment of the Kuwait Real Estate Bank. Returning to the Sabah Alamad Sea City, an interesting fact is that it is the first sea city in Kuwait to be entirely funded by the private sector without any assistance from the government. This residential city offers all the amenities and services you would expect in a typical urban area, including houses, schools, cinemas, mosques, parks, and more. Although the project was officially inaugurated in 2003, the [music] first phase was completed in 2004. The second phase included the installation of villas and waterways.

[00:04:44]The construction of this project is expected to span 25 years with a total of 10 phases planned. To give you an idea of its size, it's roughly comparable in size to Manhattan. To prepare for this project, more than 2,000 workers from over 20 different countries were hired. What makes this project particularly noteworthy is that it didn't involve land reclamation which can be harmful to the environment.

[00:05:11]Instead, the project focused on excavating extensive channels and connecting desert areas using environmentally sustainable construction methods. In fact, marine biologists and environmentalists have been closely monitoring the impact of the sea city on the marine ecosystem. So far, their observations have been quite impressive.

[00:05:32]Really, the city appears to be revitalizing marine breeding areas leading to increased diversity in marine wildlife. Even in the waterways between different land masses, there are man-made marine habitats that are thriving with various forms of marine life. Various artificial marine habitats have been established in the sea city, including brock benthic habitats, salt marshes on islands, mangroves on islands, tidal flats, intertidal beaches. subtitled sand habitats [music] and more. The marine biologists and environmentalists we mentioned earlier have been conducting daily physical and annual biological surveys and the results they've obtained are truly astonishing. These findings have contributed to the enhancement of the city's marine habitats. Remarkably, there are now more than 1,000 species of microorganisms thriving in the waterways of the sea city. Additionally, within just 5 years of the city's opening, more than 100 species of fish and shellfish have been documented in [music] this thriving ecosystem. During the city's construction, approximately 7 km of low-lying, highly saline, and environmentally degraded salt flats were transformed into lagoons and islands.

[00:06:49]This involved bringing roughly 9.5 million square meters of water onto the land. You might be wondering how these waterways are maintained. Well, nature takes care of that through the power of tides, ensuring a constant flow of water inland. In the event of a sea level rise, materials from the islands or lagoons are used to elevate the land.

[00:07:10]Speaking of land, as mentioned earlier, there was a significant challenge faced by the Sea City project. Despite the region's abundant [music] golden desert sands, they couldn't be used for the project because they consist of fine particles that are unsuitable for the [music] purpose. You might be curious why they needed sand. Well, it was for covering the seashore of the city.

[00:07:33]Interestingly, the sand from this desert [music] country couldn't be used for this purpose. Actually creating an ironic situation. So, they had only two options to address this challenge. The first option was to import sand from another country. But this was deemed time-conuming and expensive. So, it was discarded. The other solution they pursued involved washing the sand to remove the undesirable particles which was the only viable option at that point. They ordered and installed eight large sand washing plants at the site and they washed 4 million cubic meters of sand up to four times to obtain the required 2 million cubic [music] meters of clean sand. Moreover, a significant amount of asphalt was used to finish the project, equivalent to the size of 1,200 [music] football fields. 510 km of drainage and water [music] pipelines were installed as well to ensure the city stayed eliminated and operational.

[00:08:31]Approximately 500 km of electrical and telecommunications cables were laid throughout the city. The city also boasts essential facilities including an advanced sewage treatment plant and a water storage complex. Additionally, four major electrical substations were set up in the city. Despite facing numerous challenges and delays, engaging in largecale projects becomes manageable when undertaken for a greater and more beneficial purpose resulting in the best possible outcomes.

[00:09:04]And there you have Kuwait sea city which everyone thinks is impossible to complete. Although I don't see how it's impossible considering the amount of effort and determination the people put behind to finish it. It's a noteworthy project backed with a greater [music] purpose that's beneficial to the country and its people. Well, what do you think?

[00:09:24]Do let me know in the comments below.

[00:09:26]And as always, if you enjoyed today's video, don't forget to hit that like button, subscribe, and ring that notification bell. Thanks for watching, and I'll see you in the next one.