The Sheikh Zayed Canal project: Bringing water to the desert

The Sheikh Zayed Canal

A US$100 million canal project, that was designed to bring water from the Nile river to the Toshka desert in Egypt in a bid to improve irrigation in agricultural areas, has been completed.

The project, known as the Sheikh Zayed Canal, is expected to transform arid regions of Egypt into farmland increasing the country's food and livestock production.

It was funded by the government of Abu Dhabi as part of giant projects that aim for a redistribution of the Egyptian population, making use of Egypt's desert lands and creating new urban communities that are equipped with all of life's necessities. However the majority of the money was used in the construction of the canal, with some going towards three irrigation stations and development of farmland.

It is hoped that with the success of the canal, and more money, farms, irrigation, road networks, agricultural facilities, buildings, laboratories, factories and other amenities will be built in and around the Toshka area.

Key agricultural area

The Sheikh Zayed Canal reportedly has the ability to irrigate over 100,000 acres and if so, the entire area has the potential to be transformed into a key agricultural area in Egypt. An integrated irrigation system is planned for the entire southern valley area, a region that covers 24 km.

Toshka has never been exposed to pesticides or chemicals, which ensures production of safe crops conforming to world standards, the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation said.

Mahmoud Mohamadayn, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Egyptian-Saudi Real Estate Development, said that water pumping stations will soon begin tests to assess the feasability of planned water systems.

"This will breath a new life into the southern desert and up to the northern coast," he reportedly said to press, adding that the project will turn the desert "into green gardens capable of producing vegetables, fruits, livestock and poultry", and will create thousands of new jobs.

He added that this project will create a new delta in the region running parallel to the Nile and will develop in Egypt more agricultural lands irrigated with Nile water through the Sheikh Zayed Canal.

The project is expected to create thousands of new jobs to Egyptian people. The UAE has contributed to a number of joint projects through the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) by way of funding several vital projects in Egypt, where ADFD is active since 1974.

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