Dubai’s GigaFarm project: Scottish businesses prepare to build world’s biggest vertical farm

Scotland-based agritech manufacturer Intelligent Growth Solutions (IGS) is preparing to commence the construction of what will be the world’s largest vertical farm in Dubai. Dubbed the GigaFarm, the project was initially conceived at COP 2023 and is pegged to be fully operational next year. 

This week, IGS appointed Modutec, a specialist design company working in energy, marine, and defence industries, to construct the first 20 of 200 growth towers for what will be a 900,000 sq. ft facility at Dubai’s Food Tech Valley. 

Once complete, the site will be capable of growing more than three million kg of produce annually. IGS will also integrate waste-to-value and regenerative farming technologies to help decarbonize production. The facility will replace 1% of the country’s fresh produce imports.

Andrew Lloyd, CEO of IGS, tells Food Ingredients First that the GigaFarm is a replicable model by which other nations can sustainably bolster food security.

“Our tech has deliberately been designed both for use at scale and to be integrated alongside wider technology systems as part of a holistic, circular approach to crop production. The GigaFarm model positions vertical farming not just as a novel technology, but as a genuine tool through which nations can combat food insecurity and decarbonization challenges as part of government-backed critical national infrastructure.”

“The modular construction of our system also carries a number of benefits for the customer, not least of which is biosecurity and therefore the ability to grow without pesticides or fungicides.”

Vertical circularity

The project is being launched with ReFarm, a UAE-based initiative created to build circular food systems by combining vertical farming with waste recycling and nutrient recovery. The ReFarm model diverts food waste from landfill, processes it through biological systems, and converts it into reusable water, animal feed, fertilizers, and bio-based polymers that support crop production.

A Pak Choi tower by IGS.IGS explains that this means the GigaFarm goes beyond traditional vertical farming, functioning instead as a circular, regenerative hub in which energy, water, nutrients, and waste are continually reused and repurposed.

A central part of this system is food waste recycling. Organic waste will be processed using black soldier fly larvae, which convert it into protein-rich animal feed, organic compost, and reusable water. According to IGS, this process reduces landfill disposal while ensuring that byproducts are turned into agricultural resources.

Water efficiency is another focus. Water recovered during recycling will be used to irrigate crops, allowing the farm to operate independently of mains or groundwater. Growing with IGS technology is already 98% more water efficient than field-based production.

Nutrient recovery and soil health are also built into the design. Up to 90% of ammonia sulphate from wastewater will be captured and reused as fertilizer, while biodegradable polymers produced on-site will act as slow-release capsules for water and nutrients. These measures are particularly valuable in arid, water-scarce regions.

Localizing production

The ReFarm deployment is designed to deliver a wide range of environmental benefits through its closed-loop model. More than 50,000 metric tons of food waste will be recycled each year, water recovery systems will further enhance irrigation efficiency, and nutrient capture will reduce dependence on synthetic inputs. 

Local food production on-site will also replace around 1% of the UAE’s fresh produce imports, cutting the environmental burden of long-distance food miles.

“One of the fundamental drivers of this project is to localize food production and begin to reduce reliance on costly, both in environmental and economic terms, food imports, reducing carbon footprint and increasing the resilience of local food supply chains against global fluctuations,” Lloyd explains. 

“ReFarm is already working closely with existing local supply chains, both to reduce the amount of food waste going to landfill from the hospitality and catering industries, and to establish strong local relationships ready for when the Food Tech Valley site is operational.”

Expansion and international replication

IGS is already exporting its systems to other markets, including one of its largest upcoming projects in New York State.

“In upstate New York, for example, we’re working with Empire State Greenhouses on plans for a carbon-negative GigaFarm facility that will integrate vertical farming alongside a network of on-site facilities including renewable energy generation and Food-Energy-Waste systems,” says Lloyd.

“For any project of this scale, circularity is absolutely key. Commercial success is reliant on the ability to unite cutting-edge technology with robust, renewable energy systems to deliver a genuinely resilient food system.”

“Both IGS and ReFarm, as our partners in the UAE, are keen to explore collaboration opportunities, and we’d encourage anyone interested in exploring the applications of a GigaFarm project to get in touch to discuss further,” he concludes.