Yemen Minister directs use of Lujjah project to revive marine research in Mukalla

Yemen’s Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Fisheries, Salem Al-Suqatri, has directed the Planning Sector and the General Authority for Marine Science Research to utilize a student graduation project titled “Lujjah” to revitalize marine research in Mukalla.

Developed by three architecture students from Hadhramaut University, the project proposes an integrated marine research center and museum on a 60,000-square-meter site in the Khalaf area. The facility is designed to include five museum halls—featuring an aquarium, virtual reality, and dolphin shows—alongside advanced laboratories for marine biology, aquaculture, and pollution research. The design emphasizes environmental sustainability through a “zero carbon” system, utilizing wind turbines, solar energy, and recycled fishing equipment.

The initiative aims to address the long-standing closure of the marine research branch in Mukalla due to war-related impacts, which had previously limited operations to administrative tasks only. Minister Al-Suqatri emphasized that the move seeks to transform academic work into developmental projects that support food security and the blue economy in Yemen.