CAIRO - Boston University geologist Farouq el-Baz of Egypt said on Saturday that Egypt was not adequately qualified for generating nuclear power, adding that the decision to set up a nuclear plant to generate electricity in Egypt's Dabaa on the Mediterranean Sea has not been politically well studied, the official Middle East News Agency reports. El-Baz, the director of BU's Centre for Remote Sensing, added that the generation of electricity in nuclear plants causes radioactivity, which can't be easily got disposed of. "At present, Egypt ought to develop solar energy technology, until sufficient scientific research has been done into the generation of nuclear power," el-Baz argued. The Egyptian scientist, who has been visiting Cairo for six days, added that a study for implementing his ‘Desert Development Corridor' plan has been undertaken. The purpose of his plan is to construct motorways, pipelines and power lines to allow the booming population to use the country's land more efficiently. “The purpose is also to open up new land for development, in order to stop people building on fertile land near the Nile River and in its delta,” el-Baz stressed. “The project's infrastructure will cost $24 billion, creating 450,000 new jobs.” While el-Baz said that his involvement in the project will not only extend to his expertise as a geologist, he suggested the Egyptian Government issue $1 bonds, so that every Egyptian can participate in the project. “After that, we can invite Arab companies and countries, followed by international investors, to invest in the project, which I think will be highly profitable in the long term.” El-Baz added that he and his students will probably provide information gathered showing the location of ground water, found using remote sensing from space.
