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The Sheikh Zayed Canal was named after Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan El Nahayan, president of the United Arab Emirates. This recognition is for his generous $100 million donation to the project through the Abu Dhabi development fund. When the Mubarak Pumping station is completed in 2002, the canal will be ready to convey up to 25 million cubic meters of water daily from Lake Nasser.
In Phase I of the Toshka project, water will be pumped from approximately 8 kilometers north of Khor Toshka (an inlet of the lake) and released through a concrete-lined canal to feed the selected plots of land. The main canal is 7 meters deep, with a width 30 meters at the bottom and 58 meters at the surface. The daunting task of cutting through layers of sandstone, digging the main carrier canal, then carefully lining it, was awarded to the Musahamet El Behera Company.
Flowing westward from Lake Nasser, the main canal will be 72 kilometers long. It will be split into two branches, with each branch irrigating 120,000 acres of arable land.
Branch one will be 38 kilometers long and branch two will be 22 kilometers long. An 18.5 kilometer sub-main canal will feed the third and fourth branches. Branch three will be 20 kilometers long to irrigate 100,000 acres and branch four will be 60 kilometers long to irrigate 200,000 acres. The total cost of the canal and its branches is LE 4 billion (approximately $1.2 billion).
In the second phase, which was scheduled to begin at the end of 2002, the canal will continue north to Darb El Arbe'ien, then to the town of Paris. Located 90 kilometers south of Kharga, Paris is the capital of the New Valley Governorate. An additional 400,000 acres will be cultivated systematically up to the year 2017 .
There is a considerable difference between the height of the canal – 201 meters above sea level – and the water level of Lake Nasser, which varies from 147 to 182 meters. The challenge is being met by building a massive pumping station, which is the third largest in the world. |
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