While the idea of building a river in the middle of a desert may seem farfetched, it has become a real possibility in Egypt’s Western Desert.
To guarantee the availability of reliable water supplies, Egypt’s Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation is building the world’s largest artificial river. This man-made river will serve the agricultural districts of the New Delta project and stretch for a total of 114 kilometers.
The largest agricultural project ever undertaken in Egypt, this ambitious initiative aims to cultivate more than 2.2 million feddans, or 9,240 square kilometers.
نهر في الصحراء!
— انجازات مصر 🇪🇬 Egypt (@engazatmasr2020) March 7, 2023
نعم .. ما تراه أمامك هي صور لأضخم نهر صناعي في العالم يتم تنفيذه في صحراء #مصر الغربية ليكون شريانا جديدا للحياة ..
🌱النهر الصناعي الجديد بطول 114 كيلو لتوصيل المياه اللازمة لزراعة نحو 2.2 مليون فدان، ضمن مشروع الدلتا الجديدة.
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Recently, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi described the New Delta project as Egypt’s largest-ever endeavor. The initiative hopes to take advantage of the Western Desert’s unrealized potential in order to increase the agricultural region beyond the present 6% of the area mostly occupied by Egyptians.
The New Delta project
The New Delta project is the first to attain self-sufficiency and export the surplus; it is situated along the Rod El Farag-El Dabaa axis road, which is considered the agricultural lifeline of Egypt. According to articles on the SIS website, Arabian Business reported in April 2017 that the project’s inception dated back to April 2016, covering a total area of one million and fifty thousand acres in the Delta region.
The fundamental goal of the initiative is to reduce the country’s reliance on imports while simultaneously promoting sustainable development by providing inhabitants with access to high-quality agricultural goods at competitive prices and exporting the surplus to international markets. Over 10,360 new direct employment and an unknown number of indirect jobs are expected to be generated by the effort. The project hopes to spur economic growth and employment prospects in the country, with an estimated increase in employment opportunities in the future seasons.
