Accused at times of being responsible for the liquidity crisis in the late 1990s and praised on other occasions as a national project on a scale comparable to that of the Aswan High Dam, the Toshka land-reclamation project remains largely shrouded in ambiguity. The fact that we haven't yet reaped the benefits of the project might explain the inclination to be critical of the project. We decided to go to Toshka to see things first hand. The distance between Aswan and Toshka is 250 km. The journey was arduous: we had to drive down a narrow, two-way road that wasn't lit at night. On both sides of the road rose grim black mountains from barren desert land. The road seemed never ending. Then, as our journey neared its end, we finally caught sight of some greenery in the distance. We were received by Mahmoud Hamadallah, an irrigation consultant, who was to accompany us on our visit. We first headed to see the water pumping station in Toshka--known as the Mubarak Station. On our way there we saw the Sheikh Zayed Canal, the waters of which sparkled brightly in the inhospitable desert. The road to the station was lined with little trees which seemed like they might have been planted in anticipation of an official visit. I learned later, however, that the trees were there to protect the Sheikh Zayed Canal against harsh sands blown by the wind. To the right of the station there is a canal that connects the station to Lake Nasser, which supplies the Sheikh Zayed Canal with water. To the left of the station stand basins into which the water is taken through 24 water pumps, each of which pumps 16.7 meters per second. The water then flows through the 50-kilometer-long canal, which has four branches. The first of these branches supplies water to 120,000 feddans which belong to a company owned by Prince Walid bin Talal of Saudi Arabia, and El-Raghi Company. The second branch supplies water for the Ganoub el-Wadi Company. A fourth branch is scheduled to be finished in March. At the station, Ibrahim Abu el-Yazeed, general manager of operations, guided us around. "This station is one of the greatest achievements of the past ten years. It can pump 25 million square meters of water every day," he said. The station was designed to pump water even when the water level in Lake Nasser falls to its lowest levels; the station has 24 pumps, of which 21 are already operational, said el-Yazeed. The station cost around LE450 million to build and was intended to irrigate one million feddans, he added--but not even a quarter of the surface area targeted in the first phase receives water from these stations. Many are under the illusion that the idea behind the Toshka project first emerged in the 1990s. However, studies have shown that the idea dates back to when the High Dam was being built. President Mubarak officially began implementing the project in 1997. Ramadan is responsible for the president's rest house in Toshka. He came to the area in 1998, leaving his wife and children back in Qena. "At the start, there were 3000 of us, including engineers, technicians and workers. There were big companies working day and night," he recalled. Ramadan said how overjoyed he was to see the water flowing through the canal for the first time in 2002. "But our happiness was short-lived. Many years have passed, but the land is still as it is--with no crops," he said. "There are hardly more than 300 employees here now." It appears that agricultural activity hasn't been proceeding at the same rate as irrigation. Ayman el-Maadawi, deputy minister for agriculture, said that the Toshka project was not expected to bear fruit until 2017. A tour of the pumping station filled us with awe. The six-floor station is run with state-of-the-art technology. Part of the station is 40 km below sea level. Knowing that, we breathed a sigh of relief as we ascended again. As we stood contemplating the lake we wondered why we believed the High Dam could be possible while being suspicious about Toshka. We then headed to the land cultivated by the Ganoub el-Wadi Compnay and irrigated by the second branch of the Sheikh Zayed Canal. The company purchased 21,000 feddans, of which 14 have already been reclaimed. That land is used for growing wheat, barley, fruit and vegetables. Some land is also used for animal farming. Different irrigation techniques are used but there is a need for labor, including workers and engineers. Then we set out for the land owned by the Mamlaka Company. This piece of land has been particularly worrisome for the government because the company hasn't been following the cultivation schedule agreed upon in their contract--only 2000 out of 120,000 feddans have so far been cultivated. Ahmed el-Leithy, former agriculture minister, said that Prince Talal employs the most cutting-edge technology and is the most aware of the kind of crops to be grown in this land. Only strawberries, cantaloupes and a kind of seedless date are grown on his land, which are then exported abroad, said el-Leithy, who added that one kilo of dates produced here sells for US$7 on international markets. "We misunderstand the purpose of the project," he said. According to el-Leithi, certain crops can be grown and then used in industries whose factories would be built on the farms themselves. Egypt imports 90 percent of the oil it consumes, so instead, it could grow soy beans, sunflowers and olives and have factories process them onsite, said el-Leithi. He went on to say that it was a mistake to sell large plots of land to companies, which then have to bear the cost of supplying their land with water. On the other hand, said el-Leithi, it's equally wrong to sell small plots of land to small-scale farmers. El-Leithi suggested that entities be formed to reclaim and cultivate plots of between 500 and 2000 feddans. Young people could then be hired to work on these medium-sized farms using advanced technology. But urban development plans should also be put in place to attract labor, he added. Despite all the problems with Prince Talal and the small amount of land cultivated, anyone who thinks this "mega-project" was a waste of money is mistaken. How can we have so much land, a waterway like the Sheikh Zayed Canal and such a vast labor force--and yet continue to moan about poverty while importing most of our products from abroad? Translated from the Arabic Edition.
