As Egypt celebrates the foundation of one of the country's largest modern engineering projects half a century ago, engineer Mamdouh Hamza shares his thoughts on the Nile's iconic dam with Dena Rashed Like many Egyptians who lived through president Gamal Abdel-Nasser's decision to build the Aswan High Dam and subsequently saw the construction of this grand national project, architect and engineer Mamdouh Hamza feels a sense of pride as soon as the dam is mentioned. For him as for many others, it is more than just a way of damming the Nile to provide electricity and to control the river's flow. Instead, it is a symbol of national unity and gives a sense of national goals. "It has been chosen as the number one project of 122 projects undertaken in the 20th century to benefit humanity, with one of the most important in the 19th century being the Suez Canal," Hamza says. "As a result, Egypt hosts the most important projects from two centuries. We must not overlook the importance of a project like the Aswan High Dam and just take it for granted. It exists because of the geniuses who contributed to it." Hamza was the engineering consultant for the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, and he has also taken part in the design of many other major engineering projects in Egypt, such as the Toshka project in Upper Egypt. His company is now taking part in work related to the dam, about which he has passionate feelings. "It does not come cheap, and it doesn't come easy," Hamza says. "Projects like these need planning, decision-making and willpower, something one sees when one recalls how the dam came into being." The construction of the High Dam began in 1960, and it was officially opened in 1971 at a cost of $1 billion, much of which was funded by the former USSR. The dam stores 160 billion cubic metres of water, and the reservoir behind it, named Lake Nasser, stretches some 350km into Egypt and 150km into Sudan. However, the Aswan High Dam was not the first dam to be built across the Nile at Aswan. In 1898, the British occupying authorities built a dam at Aswan, opening in 1902, which could not dam the Nile efficiently. This earlier dam cannot compare to the High Dam, which is 3,600 metres long and at its base is 980 metres wide. The dam is 111 metres high and 40 metres wide at the top. The body of the dam consists of 43 million cubic metres of concrete, iron and building materials. Since its construction, the High Dam has saved Egypt from floods in the 1960s and then again in the 1980s and 1990s that could have ruined the country's agriculture. It has also supplied the country with almost 70 billion cubic metres of water during drought years between 1979 and 1988. It has increased the amount of agricultural land to almost 1.5 million feddans, due to the increased availability of water, and its power plant provides 10 per cent of Egypt's electricity supply. Not all aspects of the dam have been positive, however. The flooding of the Nile that took place before the dam's construction used to deposit a layer of rich soil across the river's flood plain, and this used to wash the salt in the soil away to the Mediterranean, a process that has stopped since the building of the dam. The story of the dam is very impressive. "I don't believe that many people know that the first feasibility study for the dam was ordered by the Revolutionary Council headed by Gamal Abdel-Nasser within only three days of the Revolution itself," Hamza says. "By 18 October 1952, when the revolution was only 100 days old, a complete feasibility study for the dam had been carried out. The ministry of public works (now the ministry of irrigation), together with engineers and university professors, joined in the making of the dam." Although Hamza says he is not a Nasserist, he also says that he cannot help but admire much of what Nasser achieved. "Nasser was only 34 years old at the time. He had many external enemies, and he was not facing a calm domestic climate. We had just lost the 1948 War, and yet he was able to take this major decision within 100 days of taking office." By the end of 1954, a complete design had been drawn up by Egyptian engineers in cooperation with a European consulting company. This is unlike what happens today, Hamza says, "when an international tender for important projects takes place, instead of finding the best teams here in Egypt." After the US and the UK had backed out from financing the dam when Nasser clashed with the two powers, the World Bank was also unable to help finance the dam. "One week after the negotiations had been dropped, on 26 July 1956 Nasser announced the nationalisation of the Suez Canal," Hamza notes, with Nasser turning to the Soviet Union for the help he needed to finance the dam. While the story of the High Dam has become almost a legend over the half century or so since its construction, recent reports in the press have claimed that the dam is not as efficient as it once was. However, Hamza argues otherwise. "There is no such thing as a life span for a dam. The body of the dam is made from geological material deposited over millions of years. As long as there is minimum maintenance, particularly of the clay core inside the dam and the ground curtain, the dam's foundations can exist safely indefinitely." Hamza argues that the dam can survive any threats. "The body of the dam that forms a barrage across the Nile is made of geological material. It is chemically stable and can defy age. However, the project also has a concrete component, which consists of the lining of the canal and the lining of the tunnels that house the turbines. This is man-made and could be subject to deterioration over time. Yet, with the proper equipment and the monitoring of any cracks or corrosion in the steel reinforcement, the dam can be safely maintained." Regarding the mechanical or hydro-electric part of the dam and its power plant, this needs more regular maintenance and has to be replaced every 30 to 40 years, or every 50 years like other power plants around the world. "As a result of my work related to the dam, I can say that the structure is in very good condition. There may be some small cracks in the concrete, but that is normal. The ministers who head the ministries of electricity and irrigation that are in charge of the dam are both scientists who have great experience in such things, and I feel sure that they will not allow any problem related to the dam to be left unresolved." However, for Hamza as for many others the Aswan High Dam is more than just an engineering work. Rather, it is a way for him to think back over the course of his life, and he can trace important moments of his life back to the dam. As a schoolboy at the age of 12, he remembers standing singing for the dam. That was on 9 January 1960, when the foundations were laid using tons of explosives and work began on digging the diversion canal and the construction phase. After graduating from Cairo University with a degree in engineering, Hamza went to Imperial College in the University of London and got a masters degree with a thesis on the Aswan High Dam. His thesis then was on the stability of the dam, and he discovered that whereas international norms or safety factors are calculated at 1.5, these same factors for the Aswan High Dam are 2.3. "I also thought about the dam in economic terms at that time, as well as in terms of security, and I was tempted to argue that the dam could have been built at half the cost. However, this would have been short-sighted on my part. Renowned professor Ali Sabri reviewed the design of the dam and made major changes. I am sure he noticed the 2.3 factor and could even have increased it because he knew that if the dam collapsed Egypt would be flooded with 90 billion cubic metres of water." While the dam's hydro-electric plant currently supplies only 10 per cent of Egypt's power needs, Hamza argues that the present turbines are 15 per cent more efficient than the older ones and that this electricity is in any case largely free. "The dam has also enabled the Ministry of Irrigation to build small power plants on different parts of the Nile, like at Nagaa Hammadi, for example, and a new one is soon to be completed in Assiut," Hamza points out. "Providing electricity is only one of the benefits of the dam." Two years ago, Hamza started a project for the Ministry of Irrigation to put measuring instruments inside the dam to monitor its behaviour and condition. "The ministry is taking the most advanced precautions to maintain the dam in prime condition, as if it had been built yesterday. It is designed to resist earthquakes, and I am sure that the safety of the dam is a top priority for the nation's military as well. The dam is the life line of Egypt, and any problem with it could affect our country." Fifty years after the laying of the foundations of the Aswan High Dam, would Hamza design it any differently today? "Dams are dams," says Hamza. "We have a history of building dams in this country, with the oldest dam in Egypt south of Cairo being built 5,000 years ago. Another dam was built in Fayoum in 1960 BCE by the Pharaohs." "While the design of the Aswan High Dam is a standard design, Egypt managed to finance it well. The decision to build the dam was a decision of genius," he says.
