His Majesty King Abdullah and Crown Prince Haakon of Norway on Thursday inaugurated the first phase of the Sahara Forest Project Launch Station, which seeks to revegetate around 2,000 dunums in the governorate of Aqaba.

Funded by the Norwegian government and the EU, the project utilises green, sustainable growth concepts to ensure water, food, and energy security.

Executed over several stages, the environmental, agricultural project is fully dependent on locally available natural resources, especially saltwater, utilising technology that uses it for the production of food and freshwater, and for power generation.

The project’s first phase features saltwater-cooled greenhouses, where various types of vegetable crops will be cultivated, watered using saltwater desalinated at stations operating on solar-generated power. It also includes labs and training facilities.

The second phase will include a research centre for the revegetation of around 200 dunums, later expanding to 2,000 dunums.

Once completed, the project will generate many job opportunities for Jordanians in various fields. It also highlights opportunities in Jordan in the field of sustainable development to revegetate desert lands.

During the inauguration ceremony, King Abdullah and Crown Prince Haakon were briefed by Joakim Hauge—the CEO of Sahara Forest Project, the Norwegian company implementing the Aqaba project—on the technology utilised in the project and its various phases.

His Majesty, accompanied by the Norwegian crown prince, toured three stations at the project, where executives gave a briefing on the technologies used to produce food, freshwater, and clean energy.

Prime Minister Hani Mulki, Speaker of the House of Representatives Atef Tarawneh, Royal Hashemite Court Chief Fayez Tarawneh, and Director of the Office of His Majesty Jafar Hassan attended the inauguration ceremony.

Planning Minister Imad Fakhoury, Environment Minister Yaseen Khayyat, Agriculture Minister Khaled Hneifat, Energy Minister Saleh Kharabsheh, Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority Chief Commissioner Nasser Shraideh, and Norway’s Minister of Climate and Environment Vidar Helgesen were also in attendance.

In remarks to the press, Sahara Forest Project CEO Hauge said the Aqaba project is the first of its kind in Jordan, noting that the company seeks to expand its operations elsewhere in the Kingdom to help ensure food, water, and energy security.