ABU DHABI, 4 July 2026 (Agencies) – Nearly nine years after it was first unveiled, the ambitious plan by Abu Dhabi-based National Advisor Bureau Limited (NABL) to tow massive Antarctic icebergs to the shores of the United Arab Emirates for use as a fresh water source remains unrealized, according to recent reviews of the project’s progress.
The initiative, spearheaded by Emirati businessman and inventor Abdulla Alshehhi, was first announced in 2017 with a proposal to haul a colossal iceberg more than 5,000 miles from Antarctica’s edge to the UAE’s eastern coast near Fujairah. The plan called for tugboats to drag the ice mass over roughly a year, after which chunks would be chipped off, crushed, and processed into drinking water for the water-scarce nation.
Since its launch, the project has seen several rounds of renewed publicity without a corresponding trial run. In 2018–2019, NABL said it had completed a five-year “feasibility plan,” and floated staging the iceberg’s journey through Cape Town, South Africa, or Perth, Australia, before completing the final leg to the UAE. A pilot tow was proposed for late 2019 but did not materialize.
In 2022, coinciding with Expo 2020 Dubai, NABL announced it had secured a UK patent for an “Iceberg Reservoirs” technology — insulated, flexible containment systems intended to slow ice melt during the long ocean tow. The company said at the time it was seeking to raise $9 million in initial funding and claimed to have signed agreements with international companies and research institutions.
Projected costs for the project have risen across various announcements, from an initial estimate of around $50 million to a later full-scale projection of $100–150 million, alongside a separate estimated $80 million for a preliminary test-phase tow.
Independent reporting has repeatedly noted that the UAE government has denied direct involvement in the venture, which remains a privately driven initiative under NABL. As of the most recent assessments in 2025, no iceberg has been towed from Antarctica or intermediate staging points toward the UAE. The only related outcome reported was the sourcing of polar ice for use in cooling beverages — far short of the project’s original goal of supplying municipal drinking water.
Industry analysts have continued to express skepticism about the plan’s technical and economic feasibility, noting that despite years of promotion, the concept has yet to move meaningfully beyond conceptual and patent-stage development.
NABL has framed the Iceberg Project as part of a wider set of initiatives under its “Filling the Empty Quarter” program, aimed at addressing water scarcity across the Arabian Peninsula. Proponents argue that since icebergs breaking off from Antarctica due to climate change already melt and are “wasted,” harvesting them could offer an alternative to costly, energy-intensive desalination. Critics, however, have pointed to simpler and cheaper interventions — such as improved irrigation and leak repair — as more immediate solutions to regional water stress.
As of now, there is no independently verified information indicating an active relaunch, new funding round, or updated timeline for the project in 2025–2026.