Abu Dhabi: Less than 1.5km separates Ras Ghanada coral reef, the largest and most diverse coral community in the Arabian Gulf situated off the coast of Abu Dhabi, from what will become the biggest industrial zone in the world.
With plans to build a 417-square-kilometre Khalifa Port and Industrial Zone (KPIZ), an area two-thirds the size of Singapore just hundreds of metres from the reef, the Abu Dhabi Ports Company have invested $240 million (Dh882 million) to build a 9km breakwater to protect it from potentially damaging shipping traffic.
The breakwater partly aligns a 16km dredged channel to allow vessels to enter the offshore port built on an island. The port is accessible by a 1km bridge, the second longest bridge in the UAE. The longest bridge currently links up the world’s biggest on-site aluminium smelter in KPIZ to its own berth in the port, and measures 1.6km.
Sixty kilometres from Abu Dhabi city almost bordering Dubai, the Ras Ghanada reef off the shores of Taweelah hosts some of the hardiest corals in the UAE, weathering extremely hot temperatures and shallow, saline waters.
Tony Douglas, Abu Dhabi Ports Company chief executive officer said the location of KPIZ is ‘strategic’ and dominated by the need for power from Taweelah power plant.
“The need to be in the proximity of a power station and sea water cooling narrowed down the land available for possible locations,” he told Gulf News ahead of his first familiarisation dive on Ras Ghanada last week, four months into his post. “The port island is 4.5km offshore connected by the longest bridge in the UAE. The proximity of the reef is amplified because of the sizes we’re talking about but we’ve made sure we could carry out the reclamation whilst maintaining the ecosystem.
“Serious hydro-engineering has gone into the construction of the port and bridges so the integrity of the reef will not be affected and these measures have worked. The breakwater is a huge civil undertaking,” he said.
The reef is inaccessible to recreational divers but has been the site of scientific study since 1995.
Dr Sam Purkis and Dr Bernard Riegl, marine biologists from the National Coral Reef Institute in Florida have been conducting quarterly assessments since 2008 to observe the effects of KPIZ’s development on sensitive corals and seagrass.
Up to 50 per cent coral cover has been recorded on the 7km long reef which stretches 5km wide. In comparison, reefs in the Florida Keyes have 2.5 per cent coral cover.
“Our first dive on the reef was in 1995. We immediately saw what a healthy state it was in. It’s an incredible eco-system and compares to many of the finest sites in the world. It really is something the UAE should be proud of, and we are passionate in our belief it’s worth fighting to protect,” said Riegl.
Around 35 coral species exist in the Arabian Gulf and 40 per cent of them are on Ras Ghanada. Several species that uniquely occur in the Gulf can be found in the area, such as table coral (Acropora downingi) and massive columnar coral (Porites harrisoni)
While the financial value of the reef cannot be calculated, its environmental value is priceless said Riegl.
“On our dives so far this September, we’ve noted a vibrant and healthy eco-system which is doing very well. The coral system is being helped massively by the breakwater, which is playing a major part in protecting the delicate reef and its hugely rich and diverse marine life. The breakwater is worth every single dirham that’s been spent on it,” added Purkis.
He and Riegl have been able to monitor the reef with satellite imagery, a network of 85 video monitoring stations and 41 photo transects to record high-resolution images of the coral species.
Since dredging for shipping lanes and construction began for the port after the breakwater was completed, the reef ‘practically hasn’t changed’ said Purkis. Dolphins, sharks and turtles have also been sighted off the reef.
Infrastructure: Largest in the world
Khalifa Port and Industrial Zone (KPIZ) will be four times bigger than Abu Dhabi Island.
As the largest integrated industrial zones in the world KPIZ will host aluminium, petrochemicals, steel, engineered metal and other major sectors. When it opens at the end of 2012, the port will be able to handle 2 million containers and 9 million tonnes of general cargo per year. By 2030, that amount will rise to 15 million containers and 35 million tonnes of general cargo per year.
