Aswan dam, built with the assistance of the USSR in Egypt. From the history of the design and construction of the high-rise Aswan dam

25.09.2019

The Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP is the most powerful hydroelectric power plant, and a power plant in general, in Russia. The grandiose structure is a dam, the height of which is 245 m, the width of the base is 110 m, and the length along the ridge is 1066 m. The hydroelectric power station itself is located in the picturesque foothills of the Western Sayan.

The structure of HPP facilities:

concrete arch-gravity dam 245 m high, 1066 m long, 110 m wide at the base, 25 m wide along the crest. 6 m and the right-bank blind part 298.5 m long;

dam building of hydroelectric power station;

coastal spillway.

The power of the HPP is 6400 MW, the average annual output is 23.5 billion kWh. In 2006, due to a major summer flood, the power plant generated 26.8 billion kWh of electricity.

The HPP building houses 10 radial-axial hydraulic units with a capacity of 640 MW each, operating at a design head of 194 m. The maximum static head on the dam is 220 m.

The HPP dam is unique; only one other HPP, Gergebilskaya, has a similar type of dam in Russia, but it is much smaller.

Below the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP is its counter-regulator - the Mainskaya HPP with a capacity of 321 MW, which is organizationally part of the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP.

The HPP dam forms a large Sayano-Shushenskoye reservoir with a total volume of 31.34 cubic meters. km (useful volume - 15.34 cubic km) and an area of 621 sq. km. km.

The constantly renewing water from the near-station part of the giant reservoir is superior in quality to that above the reservoir - it is not without reason that trout, which cannot tolerate polluted water, successfully lives in trout farms near the hydroelectric power station. During the creation of the reservoir, 35.6 thousand hectares of agricultural land were flooded and 2717 buildings were moved. The Sayano-Shushensky Biosphere Reserve is located in the area of the reservoir.

The Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP was designed by the Lengydroproekt Institute. On August 17, 2009, a major accident occurred at the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP, which caused loss of life.

Aswan Dam

The Aswan dam is sometimes called the "pyramid of the 20th century" - in terms of its scale, the structure is not inferior to the grandiose creation of the ancients. On the contrary: 17 times more stone was used to build the dam than for the pyramid of Cheops. And participated in the construction of different countries of the world.

Without a reservoir, the Nile overflowed its banks every year during the summer, overflowing with the flow of east African waters. These floods carried fertile silt and minerals that made the soil around the Nile fertile and ideal for Agriculture.

As the population grew along the banks of the river, the need arose to control the flow of water to protect farmland and cotton fields. In a high-water year, entire fields could be completely washed away, while in a low-water year, famine due to drought was widespread. The purpose of the water project - the construction of a dam and a reservoir - was to prevent floods, provide Egypt with electricity and create a network of irrigation canals for agriculture.

The first dam was built by the British in 1899, finishing in 1902. The project was designed by Sir William Willcox and involved several eminent engineers, including Sir Benjamin Baker and Sir John Aird, whose firm John Aird and Company was the main contractor. The dam was an imposing structure 1,900 meters long and 54 meters high. The initial design, as was soon found out, was inadequate, and the height of the dam was raised in two stages, in 1907-1912 and 1929-1933.

Its characteristics were as follows: the length was 2.1 km, culverts were made in it in the amount of 179 pieces. On the left side of the dam there was a lock for ferrying ships across the dam, and there was a power plant nearby.

When in 1946 the water rose almost to the level of the dam, it was decided to build a second dam 6 km up the river. Work on its design began in 1952, immediately after the revolution. At first it was assumed that the US and UK would help finance the construction by providing a loan of $270 million in exchange for Nasser's participation in resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict. However, in July 1956, both countries canceled their offer. As possible causes this step is called a secret supply agreement small arms with Czechoslovakia, which was part of the eastern bloc, and recognition by Egypt of the People's Republic of China.

After Nasernationalized the Suez Canal, intending to use tolls from passing ships to subsidize the Upper Dam project, Britain, France and Israel provoked a military conflict by occupying the canal with troops during the Suez Crisis.

But under pressure from the UN, the US and the USSR, they were forced to withdraw and leave the canal in Egyptian hands. At the height of the Cold War in the struggle for the Third World, the Soviet Union in 1958 offered technical assistance in the construction of the dam, with a third of the cost of the project written off due to the loyalty of the Nasser regime to the USSR. The huge dam was designed by the Soviet institute Hydroproject.

Construction began in 1960. The Upper Dam was completed on July 21, 1970, but the reservoir began to fill up already in 1964, when the first stage of the dam was completed. The reservoir endangered many archeological monuments, so a rescue operation was undertaken under the auspices of UNESCO, as a result of which 24 major monuments were moved to safer places or transferred to countries that helped with the work (Temple of Debod in Madrid and Temple of Dendur in New York).

The grand opening and commissioning of the Aswan hydropower complex took place on January 15, 1971 with the participation of the President of the OAR, Anwar Sadat, who cut the ribbon in the blue arch on the crest of the dam, and the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. V. Podgorny.

The Aswan Dam solved all the tasks assigned to it: to protect the Egyptians living in the valley from floods and dry seasons, by regulating the water level for many years. Irrigated lands have increased by 30% - 800,000 hectares, old lands now give not one crop, but three. This became possible due to the fact that earlier, when the land was flooded, the inhabitants planted crops there, when the water left the Nile River they harvested, now the water has become constant and you can plant it all the time, without waiting for the river to overflow again. But at the same time, people have lost natural fertilizer - silt brought with the flood of the river, now they use imported fertilizers. In addition, the dam has become the largest source of electricity, giving 2.1 million kW. Many villages had never had light in their houses before. During the construction period, thousands of Egyptians received a construction education, now many of them have become leaders in government agencies and directors of enterprises.

Demonstration in Aswan in connection with the launch of one of the units of the Aswan High Dam. 1968

Water from the Aswan Reservoir irrigates fields reclaimed from the desert

The main characteristics of the hydroelectric complex

The Aswan Upper Dam is 3600m long, 980m wide at the base, 40m wide at the crest and 111m high, and is composed of 43 million m³ of earth materials, i.e. it is a gravity earth dam. The maximum water flow through all culverts of the dam is 16,000 m³/s.

The Toshka Canal connects the reservoir with Lake Toshka. The reservoir, named Lake Nasser, has a length of 550 km and a maximum width of 35 km; its surface area is 5250 km², and the total volume is 132 km³.

Lake Nasser is the world's largest reservoir, stretching for five hundred kilometers, the depth of which in some places reaches one hundred and eighty meters. Due to its gigantic size, the lake looks more like an inland sea, all the more interesting because it is an inland sea of Africa.

The capacity of twelve generators (each 175 MW) is 2.1 GW of electricity. When by 1967 the generation of hydroelectric power stations reached the design level, it provided about half of all the energy generated in Egypt.

Ecological problems

In addition to the benefits, however, the mining of the Nile has caused a host of environmental problems. Vast areas of lower Nubia were flooded, displacing more than 90,000 people. Lake Nasser flooded valuable archaeological sites. The fertile silt, which was annually washed into the Nile floodplains during floods, now lingers above the dam. Now the silt is gradually raising the level of Lake Nasser. In addition, there have been changes in the Mediterranean ecosystem - the catch of fish on the coast has decreased, as nutrients have ceased to flow from the Nile.

There is some erosion of farmland down the river. Erosion of the coastline, due to a lack of new flood sediments, will eventually cause the loss of the fisheries in the lakes, which are currently the largest source of fish for Egypt. The lowering of the Nile Delta will lead to an influx of sea water into its northern part, where there are now rice plantations. The delta itself, no longer fertilized by the Nile silt, has lost its former fertility. The red brick industry, which uses delta clay, has also been affected. Significant erosion is observed in the eastern Mediterranean coastlines due to the lack of sand, which was previously brought by the Nile.

The need to use artificial fertilizers supplied by international corporations is also debatable because, unlike river silt, they cause chemical pollution. Insufficient irrigation control has led to the fact that some agricultural land was destroyed as a result of flooding and increased salinity. This problem is exacerbated by the weakened flow of the river, due to which salt water invades further into the delta.

Mediterranean fisheries were also affected by the construction of the dam, as the marine ecosystem was heavily dependent on the rich flow of phosphates and silicates from the Nile. Mediterranean catches have dropped by almost half since the dam was built. Cases of schistosomiasis have increased as a large number of algae in Lake Nasser contributes to the reproduction of snails - carriers of this disease.

Because of the Aswan Dam, the salinity of the Mediterranean Sea has increased, the salty stream from the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean can be traced for thousands of kilometers in the Atlantic.

Aswan dam -view from space

View to Aswan dam

General form Aswan hydrotechnical complex

Aswan Lower Dam

Aswan Upper Dam

Lake Nasser - photos from space

Inscriptions inside the obelisk in Russian and Arabic:

Over the long years of joint work, the Arab-Soviet friendship was forged and tempered, not inferior in its strength to the Aswan dam itself. Gamal Abdel Nasser.

The Aswan Dam is the pride of Egypt, which was designed in the 1960s. Soviet engineers. The dam allowed the country to completely switch to year-round irrigation of its lands.

But, on the other hand, the Aswan dam brought with it troubles, in particular, the destruction of ancient monuments located on the path of water. Some monuments were saved, such as the Tower of the Winds. They have been moved to other places.

What to watch

The Aswan Dam is accessible not only to specialists, but also to tourists. Anyone can come here for a tour from seven in the morning to five in the evening.

It will be especially interesting here for travelers from Russia. The fact is that the Soviet-Egyptian memorial is located next to the Aswan Dam. It is dedicated to the Soviet people who helped the Egyptians build the dam. The memorial is a huge lotus-shaped tower. The bas-relief of the building may even seem familiar to Russians, because it is made in the traditions of socialist realism.

There is a small observation deck on the roof of the memorial, which can accommodate about four people at the same time. It offers stunning views of the Aswan Dam and Lake Nasser. Such beauty is truly breathtaking.

On the east side, for tourists who come to see the Aswan Dam, there is a pavilion that stores a giant model of this structure - 15 m.

It is noteworthy that the plans are made in Russian and Arabic. You probably guessed why.

Stop in the middle of the dam, here you can feel the full power of the Aswan Dam: 40 m wide and four km long. You can not be afraid to look down, because of the fence it will not be possible to estimate the height of the dam. But you can admire the view of the Kalabsha temple, which is located behind Lake Nasser. From here you can clearly see the huge power plant, whose power is 2000 megawatts, and a network of irrigation canals.

The Aswan Dam is not only a powerful and beautiful structure, but also very dangerous for the whole of Egypt.

The Aswan Dam is not only a powerful and beautiful structure, but also very dangerous for the whole of Egypt. If trouble happens, and the dam begins to rapidly collapse, then most of the country's territory will be washed away into the Mediterranean Sea. That is why the Aswan Dam is carefully guarded, and its visit is possible only as part of organized groups and under the close supervision of police officers.

The Egyptians consider the Aswan High Dam to be the epitome of their future. Thanks to her, Egypt got the opportunity to actively develop and become one of the recognized tourist centers.

How to get there

From Aswan to the dam about 12 km to the south. You can drive to the sights on your own, by taxi or use the services of professional guides.

A taxi ride will cost you 30 EGP. Entrance to the Aswan Dam is also paid - five EGP.

Aswan itself from Cairo, where most Russian tourists arrive, can be reached by bus or train.

If you are relaxing in Hurghada, then the Aswan Dam can be reached directly from this resort. A seven-hour trip will cost you 45 EGP

All prices are for June 2014.

On January 15, 1971, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat officially opened a dam across the Nile called. Work on its construction was carried out during the reign of President Abdel Nasser and lasted more than eleven years before the opening. Some geometric indicators of the Aswan Dam are as follows: the length of the dam is 3.8 kilometers, the height is 3 meters, the width at the base is 975 meters, and closer to the upper edge, the width is already up to 40 meters.

The resource costs for the construction of the Aswan Dam are simply unimaginable. For this unique structure, such an amount of stone, clay, sand and concrete was used that would be enough to build 17 pyramids of Cheops.

At the top of the dam, a triumphal arch was built, under which a four-dimensional road passes. Also on the western edge are four huge pointed monoliths.

One of the most important achievements of the Aswan Dam is that with its help it became possible to control the annual flood of the Nile. Since ancient times, the life of local residents directly depended on the Nile, or rather, its floods. In most cases, the Nile did not reach the households of the local residents with its waters, but sometimes the Nile flooded so much that it completely destroyed all crops, which meant a hungry year for the local population. The construction of the dam solved this problem, and made it possible to fully use vast territories.

But with the pros of the dam came the cons. The dam had a significant impact on the ecological situation in this region, namely by increasing the level of salt, changing the soil in the adjacent territories, and as a result, significant changes in climate change in the region.

Go downstream another 60 kilometers and you will see the century-old Aswan Dam, which was completed in 1902. At that time, it was the greatest dam of its time, called El Sadd - as the Arabs called it.

Also an amazing fact of Sudan is the loss of 60,000 local residents in the process of construction. As a result construction works local residents were simply forced to change their place of residence and leave these lands. A huge number of priceless architectural structures were lost under the streams of the newly made reservoir. Only thanks to the action of UNESCO, some of the most valuable ancient monuments were saved. For example, the island of Philae was sunk under water, but despite this, the priceless temples were dismantled into numbered parts and moved to another place located higher above sea level. Among those saved, there is a central temple dedicated to the goddess Isis, some parts that date back to the first, second century BC. Also, 3 other temples moved to Kalabsha, to the eastern edge of the dam. But still the most grandiose was the salvation of the monuments in Abu Simbel, located at a distance of 282 km south of Aswan.

The winter resort called "Sam Aswan" is blessed by nature with an ideal climate, with temperatures of 20 degrees during the skiing season. And in warm seasons, the temperature here can reach 50 degrees Celsius.

Experienced people can say with confidence that the dates in Asauna are the most delicious in all of Egypt. There are also interesting places for walking here, for example, the mausoleum of the Aga Khan, who died in 1957. It is also worth taking a look at the remains of the Coptic Monastery, the ancient ruins of Elephantine Island, located on the Nile, the ancient Muslim cemetery, with its amazing burials, and others. no less significant monuments of antiquity.

In 1971, for the first time, a dam was erected, which established control over the great river Nile. The dam is a grandiose and bold project, not without reason it is also called the “new miracle of Egypt”.

The Aswan dam, on the one hand, brought the desired benefits, but, on the other hand, led to serious difficulties. Climate change has taken place in southern Egypt, it rains much more often.

Aswan is the southernmost city in mainland Egypt. Located on the banks of the Nile, about a thousand kilometers from the river delta, this city in ancient times was a large shopping mall, the intersection of caravan routes. A variety of goods from the central region (primarily ivory) were brought here, which were then transported down the Nile towards the port cities of the sea. Aswan has about 275,000 inhabitants.

The climate of Aswan was once dry and hot, but after the construction of the Aswan Dam and the formation of a huge city near the city, the local air rose to a tropical level (although the average temperature remained the same - in summer, in the afternoon, it reaches 45 degrees). Now exotic flowers and trees grow in the once deserted Aswan.

History of the Aswan Dam

In 1902, the first dam was opened, installed by engineers a little south of Aswan. It was built on in 1933. But this Aswan dam could not cope with the waters of the Nile, so it became necessary to build a new dam.

On January 15, 1971, the second dam across the Nile south of Aswan was officially opened by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. The work had begun eleven years earlier, under President Abdel Nasser.

The dam plan was developed in , and the installation was carried out with the assistance of Soviet Union. USSR and signed a contract for the construction of the Aswan Dam and a hydroelectric power station on the Nile in 1958. Moscow provided 400 million rubles, supplied equipment, raw materials and specialists.

The construction of the dam was a very laborious and costly process. So many stones, sand, clay and concrete went into the construction of the dam that 17 pyramids of Cheops could easily be built from this material. More than 450 people died during the work.

In order for the dam to be installed, the surrounding area had to be cleared. For this, the houses of more than 60,000 inhabitants were demolished, who, as a result, were forced to move to new houses.

A lot of historical and natural monuments were flooded. Only the most valuable ones were demolished. It was in control. The beautiful island of Philae, for example, disappeared forever, but the temples from it were dismantled into numbered pieces, and then again, like a mosaic, assembled on another, located at a higher altitude.

The most difficult and expensive part of the action was the rescue of the famous rock temples in Abu Simbel, which are located 282 kilometers south of Aswan. Both temples, built around 1260 BC for Ramses II, were cut out of the rock mass, the facade of the largest temple is guarded by giant statues of the pharaoh - 20 meters in height. First, a huge glass house was built to protect the statues from rising water, and visitors were lowered down into glass vessels. But in the end, the temples and statues were carved out of the mountain, sawn into transportable blocks, and put together again at another location nearby. These complex work took 4 years.

Features of the structure of the Aswan Dam

The dam is an earthen dam with a granite stone fill and a core of clay and cement. The height of the dam is II meters, the length is 3.8 kilometers. At the base, it is 975 meters wide and narrows to 40 meters towards the upper edge. On the right bank, channels and 6 tunnels were cut into the rock, supplying water to the hydroelectric power station. At the beginning, something like triumphal arch through which vehicles can enter. At the very top of the dam is a four-lane road. At the very rear end of the dam, there are monoliths placed in a circle and symbolizing sacred flower lotus. The dam created a giant artificial reservoir, which was named Nasser, after the Egyptian president. This is one of the largest artificial lakes in the world. It covers an area of 5244 square kilometers and extends 510 kilometers south through Nubia to Sudan. Water from Lake Nasser is used to irrigate the land. Now you can get high yields every year. The purpose of the dam was to control the water level in the Nile. For many centuries, people suffered from severe floods of the river, followed by flooding of fields, the destruction of a very valuable crop. Of course, with the installation of the dam, such spills are no longer recorded, the water level is controlled, and besides, the dam supplies electricity to the factories and cities of the country (passing through the dam, the water rotates turbines that generate half of Egypt's electricity), but new problems have appeared. For example, the installation of a dam led to changes in the soil around due to the increased salt content in the water and a change in this place.

Egypt Egypt

Coordinates: 23°58′15″ s. sh. 32°52′40″ E / 23.97083° N sh. 32.87778° E e. / 23.97083; 32.87778(G)(O)(I)

The largest integrated hydraulic system of structures in Egypt on the Nile River, near Aswan - a city on the first threshold of the Nile. ( Chief Engineer project - Malyshev N.A.) Two dams block the river in this place: the new "Aswan Upper Dam" (known as the Aswan High Dam) (arab. السد العالي‎‎‎, As-Sad el-Aali) and the old "Aswan Dam" or "Aswan Lower Dam".

The Nile originates at the lake. Victoria in the south of the African continent. Flowing north to the Mediterranean Sea, the river divides it into western and eastern parts, crossing Uganda, Ethiopia, Sudan and ending in Egypt on its way. Each of these states has its own interests in the use of its water resources. Without a reservoir, the Nile overflowed its banks every year during the summer, overflowing with the flow of east African waters. These floods carried fertile silt and minerals that made the soil around the Nile fertile and ideal for agriculture. As the population grew along the banks of the river, the need arose to control the flow of water to protect farmland and cotton fields. The average annual flow of the Nile in the region of Sudan and Egypt is estimated at 84 billion cubic meters. The average annual flow of the river is subject to significant fluctuations. The decrease in runoff in some years reaches 45 billion cubic meters, which leads to droughts, a rise to 150 billion cubic meters. causes floods. in a high-water year, entire fields could be completely washed away, while in a low-water year, famine due to drought was widespread. The purpose of this water project was to prevent floods, provide Egypt with electricity and create a network of irrigation canals for agriculture.

1 Economic importance
2 Design features
3 Construction history
4 Environmental issues
5 See also
6 Notes
7 Literature
8 Links

Economic importance

After the construction of the Aswan hydroelectric complex, the negative consequences of the floods of 1964 and 1973, as well as the droughts of 1972-1973 and 1983-1984, were prevented. A significant number of fish farms have formed around Lake Nasser. At the time of the launch of the last unit in 1967, the hydroelectric complex produced more than half of all electricity in the country. 15% in 1988. .

Design features

Scheme of the Aswan High Dam

A feature of the hydroelectric power station is the design of spillways with water outlet not under the water level of the downstream channel, but into the atmosphere with a jet discharge at a distance of 120-150 meters from the hydroelectric power station building. The water flow discharged by 12 spillways reaches 5000 cubic meters per second. The energy of the flow is extinguished by raising the jet 30 m above the water level of the tailpipe, followed by a fall into a channel about 20 m deep.

At the inlet section of the water intake, the tunnels are branched into two tiers. The lower tier, which is currently covered with a concrete plug, was used to pass water during the construction period. On the upper tier, water is supplied to the turbines and spillways. At the entrance of the tunnels there are two fast-falling wheel gates 20 meters high. The minimum number of turbines was determined largest diameter impeller that can be driven down the Nile through existing locks. Based on this, six tunnels with a diameter of 15 meters were built - one for two turbines.

The high-rise Aswan dam consists of 3 sections. The right-bank and left-bank sections of the dam, 30 m high, have a rocky base, the channel section, 550 m long, 111 m high, has a sandy base. The thickness of the sands at the base is 130 meters. The dam was built in an existing reservoir with a depth of 35 meters without the installation of jumpers and drainage of the foundation. The dam has a flattened profile and is built from local materials. The core and ponur of the dam are made of the so-called Aswan clays.

Construction history

The layout of the High Dam, developed by the company "Alexander Jib"

To control the flow of the Nile, the first project to build a dam below Aswan was first drawn up in the 11th century by Ibn al-Haytham. However, the project could not be carried out technical means that time. By the fifties of the twentieth century on the river. Nile was built several low-pressure dams. The highest of them is Aswan with a height of 53 m in the area of the first Nile threshold with a reservoir capacity of 5 billion cubic meters. was built by the British. Construction of the first dam began in 1899 and ended in 1902. The project was designed by Sir William Willcox and involved several eminent engineers, including Sir Benjamin Baker and Sir John Aird, whose firm, John Aird and Company, was the main contractor. The height of the constructed dam in the periods of 1907-1912 and 1929-1933 was increased, but it provided seasonal flow regulation only partially.

After the 1952 revolution, three versions of the new dam were developed to regulate the flow. The first is the extension of the existing Aswan dam, which was rejected because the topography of the banks did not allow for the construction of a dam with a given reservoir level. The second and third options offered to place the site of the new dam 6.5 and 40 km higher than the existing one, which, according to the relief conditions, met the requirements for creating a reservoir for many years of regulation. According to geological conditions and transport links the option of locating the site 6.5 km upstream of the Aswan Dam was chosen. But this range fell into the zone of the existing reservoir, which complicated the design of the dam and the technology of its construction.

By 1952, the English design and survey firm "Alexander Gibb" ("Alexander Gibb (English) Russian"). The Aswan High Dam project was developed. The maximum possible elevation of the upper pool of the reservoir was determined, providing for the possibility of long-term regulation of the Nile flow. The capacity of the reservoir was determined - 157 billion cubic meters. of which about 30 billion cubic meters. allocated for siltation and 10 billion cubic meters. - for evaporation and filtration. This project involved the construction of spillway tunnels and transport tunnels with a total length of 17 km. The spillway tunnels were to have a diameter of 14.6 m and a length of 2.1 km. The lining of these tunnels had to be made with reinforced concrete lining. The building of the hydroelectric power station was supposed to be of an underground type with a tunnel supply and drainage of water.

On December 4, 1954, an international committee submitted a report to the Egyptian government confirming the feasibility of the project. The cost of construction was estimated at 415 million Egyptian pounds, of which 35% was foreign exchange for the purchase of construction and technological equipment. After that, the Egyptian government decided to immediately begin construction. The construction was supposed to be financed with the help of a loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. On July 17, 1956, the US State Department announced that the loan agreement for Egypt had been approved. The $200 million loan was split between the US (70%) and the UK (30%). The loan was to be provided by the International Bank in the form of a loan. However, two days later, on July 19, the bank withdrew its decision.

In March 1955, the first trade agreement was signed between the USSR and Egypt. The diplomatic mission in Cairo was transformed into an embassy, and on May 21, negotiations began in Moscow on the supply of Soviet weapons, which ended with the signing of an agreement. On July 26, 1956, Abdel Nasser announced the nationalization of the Suez Canal, the annual income from the operation of which in the amount of $ 100 million will be directed to the construction of the Aswan High Dam. England, France and Israel provoked a military conflict by occupying the canal with troops during the Suez crisis. response The Soviet Union introduces warships into the Mediterranean Sea. Under pressure from the UN, the USA and the USSR, on November 6, 1956, it was decided to stop the aggression and leave the canal in Egyptian hands. height cold war in the fight for third world countries.

On December 27, 1958, an agreement was signed between the USSR and Egypt on the participation of the Soviet Union in the construction of the Aswan High Dam and the provision of a loan for this construction. in accordance with this agreement, the Soviet Union provided a loan for 12 years with a rate of 2.5% per annum in the amount of 34.8 million Egyptian pounds for the supply of equipment and technical assistance for the first stage of construction, and on July 27, 1960, an additional agreement was concluded for the amount 78.4 million pounds on the same terms to complete all work on the hydroelectric complex. Institute "Gidroproekt" was appointed the General Designer, Nikolai Aleksandrovich Malyshev was appointed the Chief Engineer, Ivan Vasilyevich Komzin was the Chief Soviet Expert, Georgy Alexandrovich Radchenko was the Deputy Chief Expert, Georgy Ivanovich Sukharev was the Deputy Chief Procurement Expert, Vitaly Georgievich Morozov was the Deputy Chief Expert for Human Resources. , the head of the administrative group - Viktor Ivanovich Kulygin.

The Soviet project of the hydroelectric complex differed radically from the approved one. The alignment area was preserved, but the dam was placed 400 meters higher, the derivation was adopted as a combined one. Its main part is made up of inlet and outlet channels, and only a section of 315 meters is made in the form of six tunnels with a diameter of 15 meters. To create a derivation, an open rock excavation was made up to 70 meters deep and with a volume of about 10 million cubic meters. The stone from this excavation was used for filling into the dam and for planning the construction site. Tunnels 315 meters long during the construction period, after blocking the channel, diverted water to the unfinished HPP building, and during operation, water is supplied through them to turbines and spillways, also located in the HPP building.

The construction management system began to take shape in 1952. In the beginning, several specialized committees were created. On October 19, 1955, the Aswan High Dam Administration headed by the Prime Minister was established under the Council of Ministers. In 1958, the Supreme Committee of the Aswan High Dam was formed. On August 16, 1961, the Ministry of the Aswan High Dam was established by a republican decree. By the same decree, the Construction Department was formed. Moussa Arafa was appointed minister. In 1962, this post was taken by Aziz Mohammed Sidqi.

A Training Center was organized for all major construction and installation specialties, in which training was conducted according to the programs of the Soviet Union. During the year, 5,000 people were trained at the training center. In total, about 100 thousand were trained during the construction period.

The official opening day of construction is January 9, 1960. On this day, the President of Egypt, pressing the red button on the remote control of the explosive device, exploded the rock in the pit of future structures. On May 15, 1964, the Nile was blocked. On this day, the construction site was visited by Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev, President of Algeria Ferhat Abbas and President of Iraq Abdul Salam Aref. The Upper Dam was completed on July 21, 1970, but the reservoir began to fill up already in 1964, when the first stage of the dam was completed. The reservoir endangered many archeological monuments, so a rescue operation was undertaken under the auspices of UNESCO, as a result of which 24 main monuments were moved to more safe places or donated to countries that helped with the work (Temple of Debod in Madrid, Temple of Dendur in New York, Temple of Tathis).

The grand opening and commissioning of the Aswan hydropower complex took place on January 15, 1971 with the participation of the President of the UAR, Anwar Sadat, who cut the ribbon in the blue arch on the crest of the dam, and the Chairman of the Presidium Supreme Council USSR N. V. Podgorny.

In mid-May 2014, the 50th anniversary of the blocking of the Nile was widely celebrated in Egypt - key event in the joint construction of the high-rise Aswan Dam. The celebration was attended by a representative delegation of the Russian public. At the solemn meeting at the Cairo Opera, Prime Minister Ibrahim Makhlyab spoke, and Russian Ambassador Sergei Kirpichenko read out a telegram of greetings from Russian President Vladimir Putin to Interim President Adly Mansour of Egypt.

Ecological problems

In addition to the benefits, however, the damming of the Nile has caused many environmental problems. Vast areas of lower Nubia were flooded, displacing over 90,000 people. Lake Nasser flooded valuable archaeological sites. The fertile silt, which was annually washed into the Nile floodplains during floods, now lingers above the dam. Now the silt is gradually raising the level of Lake Nasser. In addition, there have been changes in the ecosystem of the Mediterranean - the catch of fish on the coast has decreased, as nutrients have ceased to flow from the Nile.

There is some erosion of farmland down the river. Erosion of the coastline, due to a lack of new flood sediments, will eventually cause the loss of the fisheries in the lakes, which are currently the largest source of fish for Egypt. The lowering of the Nile Delta will lead to an influx of sea water into its northern part, where there are now rice plantations. The delta itself, no longer fertilized by the Nile silt, has lost its former fertility. The red brick industry, which uses delta clay, has also been affected. In the eastern Mediterranean, there is significant erosion of coastlines due to a lack of sand, which was previously brought by the Nile.

The need to use artificial fertilizers supplied by international corporations is also debatable because, unlike river silt, they cause chemical pollution. Insufficient irrigation control has led to the fact that some farmland was destroyed as a result of flooding and increased salinity. This problem is exacerbated by the weakened flow of the river, due to which salty water invades further and further into the delta.

Mediterranean fisheries were also affected by the construction of the dam, as the marine ecosystem was heavily dependent on the rich flow of phosphates and silicates from the Nile - Mediterranean catches were reduced by almost half. Cases of schistosomiasis have become more frequent, as a large amount of algae in Lake Nasser contributes to the reproduction of snails - carriers of this disease.

In the late 1990s, Lake Nasser began to expand to the west and flood the Toshka lowland. To prevent this phenomenon, the Toshka Canal was built, allowing part of the Nile waters to be diverted to the western regions of the country. The Toshka Canal connects the reservoir with Lake Toshka. The reservoir, named Lake Nasser, has a length of 550 km and a maximum width of 35 km; its surface area is 5250 km², and the total volume is 132 km³.

Notes

Shaitanov, 2014, p. 8-23
TSB Yearbook. 1972 / Ch. ed. S. M. Kovalev. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1972. - 624 p. - S. 256.
Belyakov V. The Egyptians are waiting for Putin. // Internet magazine "New Eastern Outlook". Retrieved April 3, 2015.

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