KAUST Opens World's Largest Coral Restoration Facility on Red Sea

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) has opened what it describes as the world's largest coral restoration facility on Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coast, with the capacity to produce up to 360,000 corals annually. Announced during the COP31 climate conference in Antalya, Turkiye, the facility aims to support the restoration of 100 hectares of coral reefs by 2030.

Operating under the KAUST Coral Restoration Initiative (KCRI), the facility combines a land-based coral nursery and research campus with sea-based nurseries and advanced monitoring systems. The programme aims to transplant more than two million corals across reef habitats around Shushah Island by 2030, with the longer-term goal of establishing a resilient reef ecosystem by 2040.

The initiative includes more than 50 research programmes exploring methods to improve coral survival in warming seas, including coral probiotics, heat-resistant species, robotics and artificial intelligence. Its eCoral digital twin technology uses AI-based modelling to identify suitable planting locations and monitor reef recovery.

The project comes amid growing threats to coral reefs from rising ocean temperatures and marine heatwaves. According to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the fourth global coral bleaching event affected more than 84% of the world's reef area between 2023 and 2025. Researchers are particularly interested in the Red Sea, where coral species have adapted to some of the warmest and saltiest marine environments.