CAIRO: The construction of a new canal along Egypt's Nile River to move water from the Nile into the desert along the North coast of Alexandria and another in the southern part of the country near Toskha have created new deltas in the area, Sheikh Zayed Canal project said on Tuesday. The project aims to convert the arid valleys in the region into agricultural lands. The Government of Abu Dhabi funded the canal through a grant ordered by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, and the follow-up orders from President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The project was part of a number of projects that aimed a redistribution of the Egyptian population, making use of Egypt's desert lands via creating new urban communities that are equipped with all the life necessities. The grant was mainly used for the construction of the Sheikh Zayed Canal section 3, the construction of three major lift irrigation stations and development of experimental farmlands in Toshka. Toshka lies in the western desert 225 kilometers south of Aswan. The Nubian word means ‘the homeland of Al Ghabeera plant'; an aromatic plant widely found in the area. Toshka is marked by its pristine lands that have never been exposed to use of pesticides or chemicals, which ensures production of safe crops conforming to world environmental standards and specifications, according to a summary of the Egyptian Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation. The project includes the canal section 3, which can irrigate about 100,000 acres within the integrated irrigation system envisaged for the development of the southern valley covering an area of over 24km. It also included construction of three pumping stations with a total capacity of pumping about 100 cubic meters per second. The project also included the establishment of an experimental farm and its irrigation network, land reclamation, road network, necessary agricultural facilities and buildings, laboratories, factories and public services. The pumping stations are currently making the test run, said Mahmoud Mohamadayn, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Egyptian-Saudi Real Estate Development. “This will breathe a new life into the southern desert until the northern coast,” he told Emirates News Agency (WAM). He added that this project of strategic importance is a gift from the UAE to the Egyptian people, and 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. Mohamadayn said that this project bodes well for the entire Egypt, because it will turn the desert into fertile land capable of producing vegetables, fruits, livestock and poultry, noting that the project will 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 by way of funding several vital projects in Egypt, where ADFD is active since 1974. BM
