WATER FOR EGYPT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20560, 10 May 1930, Page 2 (Supplement)

WATER FOR EGYPT.

USE OF BLUE NILE.

GREAT IRRIGATION SCHEME.

VAST NEW FERTILE ACRES

After more than a quarter of a century of fruitless effort a real step in' advance has been taken in regard, to , the great schcmo to tijrn Lako Tsana, the headwaters of (he Bluo Nile in Abyssinia, into a vast reservoir which will serve to bring countless fresh acres of land in tho Sudan and Egypt under cultivation. ■ .. An, agreement has recently been signed at. Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, between representatives of England, tho Sudan,. Abyssinia, and tho G. White Engineering Corporation of Now York, by which' emissaries of the last naniOd shall make a detailed survey of tho lake as soon da tho'rains end in October or November, with a view to deciding the best method of retaining until tho winter months tho hiigo' quantities 'of water which at present flow down uselessly into the sea, (luring tho summer lloQds. Thoy will.ulsp investi. gate tlio possibility of building a motor road' from Addis Ababa to tho lako. These two surveys' will probably take at least a year, after which, if all goes well, the interested parties will meet again to draw up a. final agreement for tlio necessary constructional work and tlio extent of tho concessions to bo allowed. Lord Kitchener's Idea. Groat Britain has been interested in this project over sinco 1902, when a treaty was signed by which " His Majesty Emperor Monolik 11., King of Kings of Ethiopia, ongages himself toward the Government of llis Britannic Majesty not to construct or allow to bo constructed any work across tho Bluo, Nile, Lako Tsana, or tlio Eolmt—a tributary of the Nile—which would arrest tho flow of their waters into tho Nile, except in agreement with Hisi Britannic Majesty's Government and tho Government of tho Sudan." Tho lato Lord Kitchener conceived the idea of tho construction of a barrage at tho head of Lako Tsann, when he effected the conquest of the Sudan.. While the negotiations progressed on friendly lines — tho British Government' acting in a fiduciary capacity for the Sudan —the desiro of Abyssinia was that the great task of constructing the dam should be undertaken by neutral interests. This of tho reasons why an American firm is to undertake tho work. Careful. British Survey. British interest in the schemo is'based on tho Sudan's need for an adoquato supply iof water. The present supply meets imj mediato requirements, but, looking ahead for a decade, it can bo seen that a greater supply may be needed. Lako Tsana has already boon carefully surveyed by a couplo of British engineers. Messrs. Grabham and Black, who reported that thero; is a natural dam across practically tho whole of tho southern comer of the lako where tho Blue Nile debouches. The configuration of the lako is such, thoy say in their report, " that it might be said to have been designed by Providence to facilitate tho utilisation of tho water of tho lake for tho benefit of cultivators in the Sudan and Egypt without need" to interfere with the amenities of the people living around the lako." v Tho engineers estimate that by raising the winter level of the lake by six feet some 8,000.000,000 cubic feet of water could be stored. Allowing for evaporation and other lapses en route, this, would mean 5,000,000,000 cubic' feet of water to irrigate tho'fiolds of tho Sudan and' Egypt, I which is about twice the amount, at present contained by the great Assuali Dam f—the main source'of Egypt's water for irrigation. Conditions for building the Tsana dam boing so extremely favourable, Messrs. Grabham and Black put tho cost of the construction work at no more than £2,500,000, to which thoy added a further £1,000,000 for a motor road to the Sudan frontier for tho purpose of bringing up supplies. Tho cost of a similar road to Addis Ababa would bo far in excess of this figure owing to the fact that the road would : have to cross a whole series of mountain ranges and innumerable rivers: But no doubt political reasons make it essential | to see whether this route is practicable.