The High Dam

The High Dam of Aswan is one of the most important achievements of Egypt during the last century. For many years it was a symbol of the New Era of the Revolution of 1952 and provided Egypt with water and electricity and safeguarded the country from flooding.

After the revolution of July 1952, President Nasser announced his proposal for building the High Dam but was met with Western refusals to co-operate, so he turned to the Soviet Union for both technological and financial aid. The result was the present rock-filled structure. Work began on January 9th, 1960 and the completed dam was opened in the spring of 1971. This gigantic building is 111m tall, 3.5km in length and about 1km wide! It has a hydro-electric plant, with 6 turbines, capable of producing 2.1 million kilowatts.

As a result of its construction, a great lake was formed between Egypt and Sudan, Lake Nasser. It's about 10 km wide in some places, and 500km long – the worlds largest man-made lake! Lake Nasser also has an immense, commercially-exploited fish population. Since raising the water caused the damage, and loss, of so many of the Nubian monuments, great efforts were made by the Egyptian Government, aided by UNESCO and other countries, to save the most important monuments of Nubia.