The Estefan Group will begin planting trees in Qurais in the Eastern Province from Jan. 15.
Commissioned by a government agency, the project will be headed by the Saudi scientist and inventor, Ibrahim Al-Alalim.
The project seeks to help reduce the effects of global warming in the area, while also creating a good working environment that has a strong “green” component for its staff and their well-being.
“The planting of different kinds of trees will last for one month, and will involve 21 workers from the Estefan Group, including six from the area,” Al-Alalim said.
Each of the trees will be nurtured with 100 liters of water every two weeks, and will be maintained for two years. By the time the plant watering stops, the rains will have come. “We’ve also set up a mechanism to ensure that the trees will continue to get the water they need with the use of a pure absorbent polymer that I invented,” Al-Alalim said. The polymer will store water about 600 times its own weight in water in order to properly nurture the trees.
He said that all preparations had been made, with two bulldozers having finished preparing the tree-planting area which lies more than 200 kilometers east of the Saudi capital.
Al-Alalim said, “We are optimistic regarding the project. We’ve been told that if and when the project is finished, a couple of other projects could also be awarded to us.”