Live data from Hacker News

Egypt Is Building a New Nile

theb1m.com

41–50 of 108 posts

Re: Egypt Is Building a New Nile

#41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How did India's water usage reforms fail? I've been in Egypt and India - they aren't that different, and it's Indian companies that are working on and helping financing these megaprojects in Egypt via the credit line established after the pandemic [0] and it's Indian companies like Wabag that are implementing water treatment projects in Egypt [1]. [0] - https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-06-12/egypt-say...…

Do these Indian companies implement things in India?

Yes, you may have to update your knowledge on the insane infrastructure boom going on in India right now.

Re: Egypt Is Building a New Nile

#42
post #38

With a such rapid demographic growth they have no choice. The population of Egypt doubled in last ~35 years. (quadrupled in the last ~60 years)

That's true for now, although their rate of population growth appears to have peaked several years ago and like most other countries the birth rate has since declined sharply.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Egypt

Re: Egypt Is Building a New Nile

#43
post #38

With a such rapid demographic growth they have no choice. The population of Egypt doubled in last ~35 years. (quadrupled in the last ~60 years)

How is that even sustainable, like housing, education, electricity, running water, etc. how can they scale those with that fast growing population

Re: Egypt Is Building a New Nile

#44
The article makes a good point about food imports to Egypt. I think a lot of people don't realize that Egypt has been an innocent victim of Russia's invasion of Ukraine which disrupted wheat exports.

Recent strikes by Ukraine on Russian oil refineries are in turn disrupting Russian grain harvests due to shortages of diesel fuel. While this is a legitimate defensive tactic by Ukraine, as a side effect it's likely to cause further food price inflation in Egypt.

Re: Egypt Is Building a New Nile

#45
post #15

It's practically a project of the Egyptian military who will mostly own the land. They will grow cash crops for export to gain a source of income. This will also drain the ancient and non-renewable Nubian Sandstone Aquifer. This is water that has been trapped for thousands of years. It is the world's largest fossil water system and is of immense scientific value. Not to mention the historic Nile Delta wetlands that w…

Any large government project in Egypt is a project of the Egyptian military. That’s the result of being under a military dictatorship with a fake civilian president.

What are you talking about? This is literally every single major infrastructure project in the world. In the U.S. for example, every major waterway and roadway is built by the govt (local or federal). There is even the “Army Corp of Engineers”.

You can dislike the project, but take your political beaf elsewhere. Your statements are irrational.

Re: Egypt Is Building a New Nile

#46
post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which developmental indicators are you referring to? Almost all economical numbers mean nothing if the country is a dictatorship because the admin can straight up fabricate all of them. Administrations in democracies have to manipulate the numbers, introduce new ones, etc while dictatorships can just say "Nah, make that number 20% higher". You can look at the EGP exchange rate over the last 10 years and tell me if th…

That's not how it works. Egypt is not a closed country. International organizations can get in and get numbers. It's also worth keeping in mind that many European countries, and every non-European country that's now developed, went through a phase of authoritarianism or one-party rule during which the organs of state developed. Germany's and Italy's modern democratic governments date to the end of WWII, and Spain and…

Which european dictatorship left their country better off?

Re: Egypt Is Building a New Nile

#47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Any large government project in Egypt is a project of the Egyptian military. That’s the result of being under a military dictatorship with a fake civilian president.

What are you talking about? This is literally every single major infrastructure project in the world. In the U.S. for example, every major waterway and roadway is built by the govt (local or federal). There is even the “Army Corp of Engineers”. You can dislike the project, but take your political beaf elsewhere. Your statements are irrational.

[deleted]

Re: Egypt Is Building a New Nile

#48
post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm curious as to why they aren't considering (solar powered) desalinization as an additional source of water, to pump water directly from the ocean?

Hear me out: There's a way the desert states can export and store their solar energy production cheaply, easily, at scale, without needing any rare earths (nothing that is hard to obtain / limited supply / is dirty to extract). And as part of the process, they get clean water as a side effect. Unlike e.g. export via electrolysing water and shipping the hydrogen gas which requires clean water and thus requires spendin…

Have you ever dealt with metallic sodium? You are dramatically underestimating how dangerous it is at scale. Hard no.

Re: Egypt Is Building a New Nile

#49
post #38

With a such rapid demographic growth they have no choice. The population of Egypt doubled in last ~35 years. (quadrupled in the last ~60 years)

How is that even sustainable, like housing, education, electricity, running water, etc. how can they scale those with that fast growing population

Grow more crops, build more dams, etc?

Until they are out of room anyway, but they have a lot of unused desert right now.

Re: Egypt Is Building a New Nile

#50
post #26
post #15

It's practically a project of the Egyptian military who will mostly own the land. They will grow cash crops for export to gain a source of income. This will also drain the ancient and non-renewable Nubian Sandstone Aquifer. This is water that has been trapped for thousands of years. It is the world's largest fossil water system and is of immense scientific value. Not to mention the historic Nile Delta wetlands that w…

I'm curious as to why they aren't considering (solar powered) desalinization as an additional source of water, to pump water directly from the ocean?

It's too expensive for agriculture.
Post reply on HN