ID: 1941
Presenting Author: Etia Ndarake
Session: 705 - Navigating Uncertainty in Impact Assessment to Support Expedited Decision-Making
Status: pending
This paper shows how environmental data and baseline modelling guided the construction methodology for a desalination plant, and accelerated decisions while safeguarding ecological integrity.
Red Sea Global (RSG) is pioneering regenerative tourism development along Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast. Working with a consortium of international partners, RSG is delivering a multi-utilities infrastructure project to support its AMAALA destination. Implemented under a Public–Private Partnership, the project includes a reverse osmosis (RO) desalination plant. An Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) evaluated the project’s potential effects across sensitive marine and terrestrial environments. Key ecological sensitivities include live coral, back reef, seagrass, macroalgae, and rocky shoreline habitats. This paper demonstrates how baseline environmental data and modelling informed: (1) early selection of construction methodology for the intake and outfall pipelines, and (2) expedited Final Investment Decision, as ESIA approval was required to secure investment.
Two construction methods—open trenching and micro-tunnelling—were assessed. Open trenching requires seabed excavation, pipeline installation, and backfilling, resulting in extensive habitat disturbance. Micro-tunnelling avoids direct seabed impact by tunnelling beneath the substrate, reducing disruption to marine ecology. Two metrics guided the comparison: disturbed habitat area and estimated live coral loss. Trenching would disturb approximately 49,425 m² of marine habitat, while micro-tunnelling would impact only 4,679 m². Although more costly and technically complex, micro-tunnelling was selected to minimise ecological effects and provide an adaptive compliance framework for regulatory confidence.
Etia Ndarake is an Associate Director-Environmental Compliance at Red Sea Global. He has over 18 years’ experience on projects in Nigeria, Qatar, UK and Saudi Arabia.
Coauthor 1: Artul Andope