Saudi’s Red Sea Global, Partanna project to use carbon-negative concrete

Image: Red Sea Global

Red Sea Global, the developer of The Red Sea and Amaala, has signed a pilot project to lay Partanna’s carbon-negative concrete pavers at its landscape nursery.

Partanna is credited with pioneering the creation of the world’s first carbon-negative concrete, with technology that avoids carbon emissions and naturally removes it from the atmosphere.

Red Sea Global has agreed on a pilot project for the manufacture, delivery and installation of an initial 11,000 carbon-negative pavers.

The slabs will be placed at Red Sea Global’s landscape nursery, the largest in the region at one million square metres, which is set to grow more than 30 million plants by 2030 to landscape The Red Sea and Amaala destinations.

John Pagano, group chief executive officer at Red Sea Global: “We believe that sustainability is no longer enough. We need to find ways to restore and regenerate the planet. That is why we have committed to increasing the net conservation benefit at our destinations by 30 per cent through the enhancement of habitats that ensure biodiversity can flourish, and to being carbon neutral when we become fully operational.

“Green technologies such as Partanna’s carbon-negative concrete could play a crucial role in helping us achieve these ambitious aims and even going one step further to become carbon negative.”

We have partnered with @PartannaPress for an innovative pilot program to install paving slabs that naturally remove carbon from the atmosphere at our landscape nursery. Read more: https://t.co/8qoqIehLHp #ForPeopleAndPlanet pic.twitter.com/Z98bELQi4f

— Red Sea Global (@RedSeaGlobal) June 1, 2023

Pilot scheme with Partanna

The product supply agreement and first pilot scheme follow an MoU signed between the two organisations at COP27 in Egypt last year.

Under the arrangement, both parties will scope out future pilot projects, including applications of Partanna’s ocean-resilient concrete as an infrastructure solution to coral reef restoration projects at Red Sea Global.

Using recycled ocean water brine in its concrete, Partanna’s innovative solution is better suited to under-ocean conditions than traditional concrete, and has been proven to be more durable.

Rick Fox, former Los Angeles Lakers basketball star, Hollywood actor and co-founder of Partanna Global, said: “Red Sea Global is right, sustainability isn’t enough. We say that carbon avoidance isn’t enough either. The world desperately needs removal solutions and our technology can perform like no other, permanently locking in the carbon it absorbs.

“With a shared vision to make the world a better place, we have high expectations for what Red Sea Global and Partanna can achieve together. Our plan to pioneer ground-breaking technology solutions for the global coral reef development industry could set a new standard for marine stewardship.”

Partanna’s offering is as durable, versatile and scalable as traditional cement. Its use of brine as a core ingredient brings unique benefits to the Middle East, where desalination plants can harvest more fresh water per litre processed and provide Partanna with the rest.

Committed to sustainable construction

Red Sea Global has used sustainable construction techniques from offsite modular construction to crushing construction waste that can’t be recycled and using it as fill material. As a result, The Red Sea became the first development in the Middle East to secure LEED platinum certification, the US Green Building Council’s highest level of certification.

The Red Sea destination is set to welcome first guests this year when the first three hotels and phase one of the international airport open.

It will become the world’s largest destination to run solely on renewable energy from opening. Its five solar farms for phase one are 98.6 per cent complete, with more than 750,000 panels now installed.