UAE - Mubasher: ADQ plans to establish the UAE’s first fresh produce AgTech Park, which would be the region's largest tech-enabled fresh produce farming hub.

To be launched in Al Ain Industrial City (AAIC), AgTech Park will enable the country to accelerate sustainable innovation-enabled food production and distribution and reduce its reliance on food imports, according to a press release on Tuesday.

Under Abu Dhabi Ports’ Industrial Cities & Free Zone Cluster, the park's location will raise efficiency in processing, storage, and distribution of perishable goods and food supplies for the region.

As part of the project, ADQ has partnered with three controlled-environment agriculture specialists to develop and run greenhouse facilities in the 200-hectare AgTech Park.

ADQ forecasts the park to annually produce 39 kilotonnes of fresh fruits and vegetables per year once it begins operation.

The Group Chief Investment Officer at ADQ, Mansour Al Mulla, said: "With a scalable, environmentally sustainable AgTech Park, we will increase the availability of high-quality local produce while leveraging technology to optimise the use of our natural resources, such as water, and protecting our environment."

Meanwhile, the Executive Director of Food and Agriculture at ADQ, Gil Adotevi, remarked: "To deliver the AgTech Park at such a significant scale, we must work with multiple stakeholders, by partnering with local, regional, and international experts in desert farming, agri-parks and controlled-environment agriculture solutions to ensure its success."