RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund said the Kingdom will be launching its first commercial helicopter operator.
The company will provide private air transport services within major cities, the Saudi Press Agency reported. It will also be organizing tours to many different destinations throughout the Kingdom.
The helicopter company was established with initial capital of SR 565 million ($151 million) to meet the growing demand in the Kingdom for luxury tourism and transportation services.
The company will provide safe access to distant tourist destinations inside the Kingdom and provide a high quality air transport experience in accordance to international standards.
The step is in line with the investment fund strategy which aims to maximize sustainable financial returns as well as launching new sectors and developing them.
It also fulfills efforts to achieve Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 by encouraging the tourism sector in the Kingdom.
Saudi Public Investment Fund launches Kingdom’s first commercial helicopter operator
Saudi Public Investment Fund launches Kingdom’s first commercial helicopter operator
- The kingdom’s is launching its first commercial helicopter operator with an initial capital of 565 million riyals
Japanese researchers hope to restore coral from Saudi-made structures
- Coral skeletons made for Saudi Pavilion at Japan expo last year
- Results of Japanese study to be revealed at Riyadh Expo 2030
TOKYO: Japanese universities are seeking to restore coral reefs and marine ecosystems after receiving artificial structures that Saudi Arabia made and showcased at last year’s Osaka-Kansai Expo.
The coral skeletons were donated to the University of the Ryukyus in Okinawa and Kansai University in Osaka Prefecture, Kyodo News reported at the weekend.
The structures are made from calcium carbonate, a material on which corals are believed to grow more easily compared to artificial alternatives such as concrete or metal.
The skeletal structures were created using 3-D printers, with one piece produced a day during the expo, and displayed across an entire wall in the Saudi Arabia Pavilion, which had an area focusing on sustainable marine environments.
Coral reefs serve as habitats for much marine life, but over 40 percent of the world’s 892 species face possible extinction, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
The University of the Ryukyus, which received about 150 of the artificial coral skeletons, will place them in waters off the eastern coast of Okinawa’s main island and then examine their impact on the ecosystem.
Kansai University has placed theirs in the sea around Kagoshima Prefecture’s Yoron Island to observe their growth after transplanting coral polyps onto the structures.
The results of the research are expected to be revealed at the Riyadh Expo in 2030.
“I had never imagined that Japan and Saudi Arabia would cooperate on coral research,” said Masato Ueda, a professor specializing in regenerative medicine at Kansai University.
Ueda said he wants to demonstrate to children that “humanity is attempting to restore the environment.”
