This ambitious project offers an solution to Egypt’s land and water scarcity (Image: Getty)
A bold and transformative plan aimed at turning barren desert land into thriving, arable farmland has long been under consideration for Egypt.
As the African country faces a serious overcrowding issue, with only about 4% of the country being habitable, it is said that Egypt has considered plans to spend £7.3 billion to “flood itself” to tackle its land issues.
Known as The Qattara Depression Water Transfer Project – with an esitmated cost of £7bn – it involves turning the barren Qattara Depression into livable land by constructing a 34 mile-long canal that channels water from the Mediterranean sea into the depression.
Located in the Western Desert, the Qattara Depression is one of the lowest points on Earth, sitting 133 metres below sea level and covering roughly 12,181 square miles and was created by the interplay of salt weathering and wind erosion.
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In April 2023, Egyptian Group for International Trade and Consulting (EGIT Consulting) it had signed an agreement with Elite Capital & Co. Limited to conduct a new feasibility study for the Qattara Depression in Egypt.
Dr. Ehab Anwar, CEO of Egit Consulting said: “The Qattara Depression project is expected to be a contributor to the Egyptian economy, providing new jobs and increasing Egypt’s GDP.
“This new feasibility study will provide a detailed analysis of the technical, economic, and environmental aspects of the project and also will identify any potential risks and develop a comprehensive plan for the project’s implementation.”
In past years, due to its size and proximity to the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, previous had been made proposing to flood the area for various usages, such as the potential to generate hydroelectricity there.
It was suggested that the influx of seawater would generate hydropower, taking advantage of the significant elevation difference between the Mediterranean and the depression to create renewable energy.
This power could then fuel desalination plants, which remove salt and other minerals from seawater or brackish water to produce fresh water for drinking and industrial uses.
Moreover, the presence of a large water body could increase humidity, possibly generating rainfall in the surrounding desert and making the region more suitable for farming. And if successful, the project could dramatically alter Egypt’s landscape.
While the benefits are potentially vast, the project is still in the planning stages, facing substantial environmental and logistical hurdles.
In a recent video made by @map.lap.official on , they dubbed that this initiative offered an ambitious – but somewhat “insane” solution to Egypt’s land and water scarcity.
While one user commented: “That actually sounds like a good idea” others were were not as impressed with another account commenting “Egypt is doomed”. Some even joked about whether Egypt was even aware of these plans taking place.
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Construction of the artificial river is already underway costing Egypt $5.2 billion (Image: Cairo Scene)
However Egypt is moving forward with the New Delta Project, a major initiative to reclaim and cultivate 2.2 million feddans (about 5,741 square miles) of desert west of the Nile Delta. This project is part of Egypt’s broader strategy to expand its agricultural footprint and improve food security.
A key component of the plan is to build a 70 mile-long long artificial river in the northwest of the country. The artificial river, or the New Delta project, which will be parallel to the Nile River, costs £4.2 billion pounds.
According to Abbas Sharaky, professor of water resources and irrigation, the first of three channels of the artificial river, which will be 26 miles long, will carry 10 million cubic metres of water and irrigate about 600,000 acres. The second will be 105 miles long while the third channel 7.5 miles long. It also plans to build the world’s largest wastewater treatment plant, which became operational in June 2023.
Capable of processing 7.5 million cubic meters of water daily, the New Delta Wastewater Treatment Plant takes agricultural drainage water from the North Delta, treats it and uses it for irrigation on the newly reclaimed land.
The New Delta Project is expected to create hundreds of thousands of feddans of productive farmland, supporting the nation’s agricultural needs and creating new settlements for Egypt’s growing population; reducing its reliance on imported food, boost local food production and provide vital job opportunities in the sector.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi said in 2021 during a visit to the canal city of Ismailia: “The New Delta project is the future of Egypt”.