Toshka Project: Irrigating Egypt’s desert

Egypt has built the Mubarak Pumping Station, the world's largest pumping station to irrigate the desert and ensure food security and relieve urban centres. The Toshka project is crucial for the implementation of the 'Egypt Vision 2030' strategy and aims at long-term independence from grain imports.

#ToshkaProject #Egypt #Wilo

▬ Egypt Vision 2030
Egypt has been working on a project to irrigate the desert and relieve urban centres since back in the mid-1990s. The Toshka project, as it is known, plays a crucial role in the implementation of the ‘Egypt Vision 2030’ strategy. The aim is to increase the country’s arable area to 25 per cent. Since global political crises and the challenges of climate change are increasingly complicating the food and water supply in North Africa, this project aims at long-term independence from grain imports. Moreover, despite critical voices from neighbouring countries, Cairo is confident that this project can be implemented with the available water resources. The first yields are already visible: in April 2022, the harvest season started in Toshka as President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi looked on. In cooperation with the Egyptian government, Wilo is providing solutions to support the expansion of the project and ‘Egypt Vision 2030’.

▬ Increasing urbanisation and why Egypt needs to irrigate its desert
About 60 per cent of Egyptians currently live in cities or their immediate surrounding areas. Through a process known as urbanisation, these metropolitan areas are growing faster than the necessary infrastructure is being developed. More and more people are migrating from rural areas. Since 1980, Egypt’s population has grown from around 40 million to over 104 million people. By 2030, the population is expected to reach almost 120 million. One of the biggest issues, therefore, is ensuring a safe and sustainable supply of drinking and process water since 95 per cent of the country is desert.

▬ Building world's biggest pumping station
In the hot and dry southwest of the country, one of the world’s biggest pumping stations has been constructed. The Mubarak Pumping Station transports up to 1.2 million cubic metres of water per hour from Lake Nasser into the Sheikh Zayid Canal. It is the centrepiece of the Toshka project. Flood waters from the Nile used to seep away into the desert sand. Today, the vital waters are channelled.

▬ Irrigating the desert with Wilo pumps
The Egyptian government is irrigating the desert using more than 300 Wilo split case pumps to turn 56,700 hectares of desert into arable land. This will require 5.5 billion cubic metres of water every year, but the government is optimistic that it can implement the project without exceeding its quota of Nile water.

This huge volume of water will permanently transform the desert into land that can be used for agriculture. In one of the world’s driest regions, however, it is no surprise that every drop of water is highly sought after. The Nile Water Treaty of 1959 sets out how much water Egypt is permitted to take from the Nile every year. Some of Egypt’s neighbours and other countries on the Nile fear that the Toskha project could exceed this amount. However, because Egypt’s water supply also depends on rainfall, groundwater and recycled agricultural drainage water, the government is optimistic that it can implement the project without exceeding the country’s quota of Nile water.

#ToshkaProjectEgypt #EgyptIrrigationProject #EgyptIrrigation #Irrigation #WiloPump #LargestPumpStation #PumpingStation #PumpStation #WaterPumpStation #WaterPump #WiloWaterPump #FoodSecurity

▬ About Wilo Group
The Wilo Group is one of the world’s leading premium providers of pumps and pump systems for building services, water management and industrial sectors. In the past decade, we have developed from a hidden champion into a visible and connected champion. Today, Wilo has more than 8,400 employees worldwide. Our innovative solutions, smart products and individual services move water in an intelligent, efficient and climate-friendly manner. We are also making an important contribution to climate protection with our sustainability strategy and in conjunction with our partners. We are systematically pressing ahead with the digital transformation of the Group. We are already the digital pioneer in the industry with our products and solutions, processes and business models.

▬More from Wilo Group

▬ Social Media