35% of the pipe works and 65% of the open track have been completed
The construction of an artificial river in the midst of the arid desert may appear implausible; however, it has now evolved into a viable project in the Western Desert of Egypt.
The Egyptian Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation is constructing the world’s biggest man-made river to ensure the accessibility of sustainable water resources. Spanning a length of 114 kilometers, this artificial waterway will cater to the needs of the agricultural regions of the New Delta project.
This ambitious scheme is designed to cultivate more than 2.2 million feddans, equivalent to 9,240 square kilometers, and is the most extensive agricultural project ever undertaken in Egypt.
Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi recently hailed the New Delta project as the largest initiative ever undertaken in the country. With an aim to expand the agricultural region beyond its current meager 6% on the land primarily occupied by Egyptians, the project intends to harness the Western Desert’s untapped potential.
Located along the Rod El Farag-El Dabaa axis road,which is regarded as the agricultural lifeline of Egypt, the New Delta project is the first to achieve self-sufficiency and export the surplus. Covering an area of one million and fifty thousand acres of the total Delta region, the project’s inception dates back to April 2017, Arabian Business said, according to reports from the SIS website.
The project’s primary objective is to deliver superior-quality agricultural products at affordable prices to citizens and export the surplus to foreign markets, thereby reducing the need for imports and fostering sustainable development. The initiative will create more than 10,360 direct job opportunities and an anticipated number of indirect jobs. With a further increase in employment opportunities expected in the upcoming seasons, the project aims to drive economic growth and employment prospects in the country.