In Egypt, a project for desert development has begun.

The President of Egypt has launched a large-scale agricultural project to develop the desert.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has launched the ambitious “New Delta” project, aimed at expanding agricultural land by reclaiming desert areas and ensuring the country’s food security.

During the opening ceremony, which coincided with the wheat harvest in 2026, Egypt’s largest land reclamation initiative in history was presented. The new agricultural lands will cover up to 2.2 million feddans, approximately 9,000 sq. km. This project aims to increase cultivated areas by 15% and focus on growing crops strategic to the country, including wheat, corn, vegetables, as well as export olives and figs. The re-investment term already amounts to about 800 billion Egyptian pounds, which exceeds $15 billion.

A key element of the project is an innovative water supply system, which some in Egypt are already calling an “artificial river.” Water from the Nile Delta drainage channels will flow to the El-Hammam treatment complex located on the Mediterranean coast. Up to 7.5 million cubic meters of water are processed daily and then transported through a 170-kilometer canal to desert areas for irrigating new agricultural lands.

The “New Delta” project is intended not only to develop the agricultural sector but also to provide over 2 million jobs, a significant argument amid global economic instability. At the same time, environmentalists and human rights activists express concern about the system’s energy intensity and significant state expenditure, as well as the concentration of control over the project in the hands of structures closely linked with the military.

This project gains special importance in light of similar initiatives in other countries, particularly in China, where measures to manage weather conditions to increase yield in arid regions have already been implemented.