WSP Middle East will provide an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) for the regenerative tourism destination’s 11 unique “Coral Bloom’ resorts at Shurayrah Island on the nation’s west coast, following its appointment by developer The Red Sea Development Company’s (TRSDC).
The Shurayrah Island resorts make up the majority of the 16 hotels in Phase One of The Red Sea Project, which is due to welcome its first guests by the end of 2022 and complete in 2023. Development on the island, which is situated in the Al Wajh lagoon – home to one of the world’s largest barrier reef systems, untouched corals and a number of endangered species – will see the construction of a series of iconic resorts and associated facilities.
The project incorporates biodiversity considerations into the core of its design and has been planned to avoid disruption to the island’s mangroves and other sensitive ecological habitats, and WSP’s scope of work will comprise the identification and evaluation of habitats lost and/or created during the project’s lifecycle.
This will also support TRSDC’s overall aim in creating a net positive conservation benefit of 30% for The Red Sea Project area within the next two decades, added the consultant in a statement.
“We’re excited to be playing a pivotal role in the Kingdom’s mandate for economic diversification as The Red Sea Development Company embarks on turning its vision for regenerative tourism into reality,” said May Faraj, head of Environment & Sustainability, WSP Middle East. “As a destination that is grounded in sustainability, WSP Middle East is proud to be delivering world-class environmental expertise that will underpin The Red Sea Project as a global model for sustainability, environmental protection, and nature conservation for generations to come.”
Raed Albasseet, Head of Corporate Environment and Sustainability, The Red Sea Development Company, added: “In order for The Red Sea Project to be a world leader in environmental sustainability across planning, construction and operation, we need to build sustainability into the DNA of our project from the onset. Engaging an industry changemaker such as WSP Middle East will enable us to achieve this through the provision of quality services that assess and predict potential adverse social and environmental impacts and also devise suitable mitigation measures to ensure seamless development and future operation of the 11 iconic Coral Bloom ecotourism resorts at Shurayrah Island.”
TRSDC has engaged WSP Middle East to take forward the ESIA process throughout the concept design, schematic design, and final design stages of the project.