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Hong Kong’s Archireef partners with First Abu Dhabi Bank to restore marine ecosystems in the Middle East
- Archireef’s 3D-printed terracotta tiles will provide a new habitat for 2,400 corals off the coast of Abu Dhabi
- FAB will finance the installation of 400 such tiles across a 100 square metre area to support the recovery and development of underwater ecosystems
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Hong Kong marine tech start-up Archireef will partner with the Middle East’s biggest bank, First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), to deploy terracotta tiles that will help restore the degraded reef ecosystem off the Arabian Gulf coast.
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FAB will fund the deployment of 400 such tiles across a 100 square metre area off the coast of Abu Dhabi, which will support the recovery and development of underwater natural ecosystems, according to an announcement on Monday at the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (Cop28), held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The patented reef tiles, manufactured by Archireef’s 3D-printing process, will provide a new habitat for 2,400 corals.
“Our partnership with Archireef will ensure that adequate funding and pioneering technologies are deployed to protect and restore the UAE’s corals,” said Futoon Al Mazrouei, FAB’s group head of consumer banking for UAE in a statement.
The start-up said 50 per cent of coral reefs have been lost worldwide in the past three decades and scientists have projected that 90 per cent of the world’s reefs will be gone by 2050.
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Healthy coral reefs act as natural breakwaters by significantly reducing wave action, thus protecting coastal communities from natural disasters such as storms and floods.
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