Greening of the Sinai
By 2003, Egypt's �5.5 billion irrigation project along the coastal strip of the Sinai Peninsula should be completed. The plan of the 'Northern Sinai Development Project' is to turn 250,000 hectares of desert into productive farmland and eventually resettle 1.5 million people from the overcrowded Nile valley. Building new towns in this area would relieve pressure on cities like Cairo, and increased food production could ease Egypt's need to import food to feed its expanding population. Half the water for this project will be drawn from the Nile and transported to the area through the 180 km long Salam canal including tunnels beneath the Suez Canal. However, there could be major disruptions for the Bedouin people who live in the area, as well as the natural environment.

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