New water-saving techniques will be implemented at a new 18-hole golf course being built in Ras Al Khaimah in the UAE.

Applied for the first time outside the US, this new technique will save the new project millions of dirhams based on commercially priced water rates.

The 18-hole grass fully-floodlit Tower Links golf course and academy is the first golf course in Ras Al Khaimah and the second of its kind in the UAE.

Work on the project has commenced and is scheduled for completion early next year. Project management company Hydroturf International is heading the development, after winning the contract earlier this year to design, build and operate the golf course.

The agreement entrusts Hydroturf International to manage the Tower Links project during the construction period as well as after completion.

Hydroturf International is now working with Professor Ronny Duncan, a soil expert from the University of Georgia's Department of Crop and Soil Sciences in the US, to provide a tailor-made solution that will maximise cost savings and minimise environmental damage.

"We have recommended a type of turf, called Paspalum grass, which can tolerate high-stress environments." states Duncan. "We will be able to irrigate turf-based locations with the wastewater which is currently being run-off in the neighbouring wadis, therefore saving the cost of providing regular water."

Additionally, the saline water used for the irrigation acts as a natural pesticide, thereby providing both cost and environmental savings.

Another saving made by using Paspalum grass, is that it reduces the level of fertiliser usage, as it requires 50 per cent less fertiliser than other grass varieties. These savings in chemical usage alone will diminish the adverse impact on the environment.

''In hot and dry environments such as the UAE, water is a precious commodity. Many projects, which were halted due to the high costs of irrigation, have now become economically feasible using this new variety of grass," states Hydroturf International managing director Colin Baxter.

Along with Hydroturf International, the government of Ras Al Khaimah is committed to carefully researching and sourcing the best for the new golf course.

"The usage of Paspalum on the new golf course falls both in line with the emirate's aim to adopt the latest cost-effective methods whilst conserving the environment" says Sheikh Faisal bin Saqr Al Qassimi, chairman of general accounts, Ras Al Khaimah government.

Built at the head of the lagoon and subject to tidal changes, the golf course with the new grass application will remain green. The Paspalum plant endures wet boggy areas and has the resilience to survive underwater for several days.

"In the US, we have been able to use water directly from the Gulf of Mexico to irrigate a golf course in Naples, Florida," says Duncan. "With any other species of grass this would have been impossible."

Duncan has spent 10 years researching this new variety at the University of Georgia, which has dedicated a department to soil and crop studies.

Dubai-based Hydroturf International operates throughout the GCC and Egypt, with offices in Abu Dhabi, Ras Al Khaimah, Cairo, El Gouna, Jeddah and Riyadh.

Hydroturf's first golf project was undertaken in Saudi Arabia in 1991; since then, the company has developed into the leading supplier of irrigation, turfcare machinery and golf cars to the Middle East golf market.