Summary:
This article by John Watson (18.03.2006) describes the Great Man-Made River Project in Libya. Libya is a mainly desert country and finding a supply of fresh, clean water has become a government priority, made more pressing by increased industrialization.
Oil exploration in the 1950s revealed vast aquifers beneath Libya’s southern desert. How to get this fossil water to the two main cities, Benghazi and Tripoli, where most Libyans live? Libya had oil money to pay for pipelines to transport the water but needed the engineering expertise of foreign companies to implement the scheme. Phase 1, started in 1993, brought water from eastern well-fields to Benghazi. In 1996 phase 2, bringing water from western wells to Tripoli was completed. Phase 3 was still under construction in 2006.
The Brega cylinder pipe factory manufactures the 4m-diameter pipes which transport the water from the desert to the coast. The pipes are designed to last 50 years and now most of the manufacturing is done by Libyans. With water now available in coastal cities, the Libyan government is beginning to use water for agriculture. It is uncertain whether this will succeed, partly because no-one knows how long the water will last.
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The main idea:
The main idea of the article is to explain how Libya implemented a plan to transport water from underground aquifers in the desert to the large coastal cities where most Libyans live. The project has been successful and, now that the large cities like Tripoli and Benghazi are supplied with fresh tap water, the Libyans are hoping to introduce irrigation schemes to develop agriculture,
Opinion:
I think it’s a particularly relevant article for people living in desert countries such as the UAE. It would be interesting to find out if this country has underground aquifers which could be utilized in a similar way. Like Libya, the UAE has the wealth from its massive oil reserves to fund a similar project, should it be feasible.
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