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Saudi Arabia to build largest artificial oil canal: Report

Hail - The new canal will start from the Arabian Sea and will pass through Omani and Yemeni borders before reaching Rub Al Khali.

Saudi Arabia intends to establish a 1,000 km-long canal linking the Arabian Gulf with the Arabian Sea, passing by the Kingdom to facilitate transport of oil, avoiding the Strait of Hormuz, reports Saudi Gazette.
The latest issue of Al Muhandis magazine, has described the largest artificial canal as the project of the century and the Kingdom's second renaissance. 
The Saudi Electricity Company is currently studying the project, which aims at not only transporting oil but also generating electricity using nuclear power. 
The vital project was first proposed seven years ago. In the first phase it will be used to produce electricity. Later it will be transformed into the Kingdom's second renaissance.
The new canal will start from the Arabian Sea and will pass through Omani and Yemeni borders before reaching Rub Al Khali or the Empty Quarter in the Kingdom, the second largest desert in the world covering a total area of 600,000 square kilometers, the report said.
"The canal will have a length of 1,000 km," Esmat Al Hakeem, an engineer, told Okaz/Saudi Gazette 
"The project also aims at transforming the Kingdom into an exporter of products instead of its present position as a consumer country. Saudi Arabia will play a pioneering role in peaceful use of nuclear energy" he said. 
The project can be implemented in other countries, he added.
According to the Saudi Gazette report:

According to the study, 10 nuclear power stations will be constructed along the new canals with a total capacity of 50 gigawatt, which is the Kingdom's present electricity requirement. This will enable the Kingdom to avoid its dependence on traditional power stations powered by oil.
A number of canals will be constructed inside the Kingdom to be linked with the big canal, he said, adding that a nuclear power plant would be set up on every canal to produce electricity. The plants will be established in the Empty Quarter away from residential cities.
Modern cities will be constructed near the branches of these canals to accommodate workers engaged in implementing new projects including power generation plants, industries, agricultural fields, animal farms and irrigation facilities in the Empty Quarter.
Tourist centers would also be developed on the canals for winter recreation when temperatures fall in Europe, US and other countries, the study said.