New Towns and Rural Development in Egypt

Abstract

Opening ParagraphIn a poor and densely populated country like Egypt, where most of the people are engaged in agriculture and where cultivable land is limited, first priority in any development policy is usually given to agricultural projects for the reclamation of semi-fertile lands and the construction of settlements near the newly opened up areas. A large number of such projects have been executed in Egypt in the last twenty years or so: the cultivation of large areas in the oases of Kharga and Dakhla using subterranean water and the emergence of what is presumptuously called ‘the New Valley’; the reclamation of semi-desert lands in the coastal zone in the Western Desert and the digging of a long canal to carry the much needed water for irrigation from the Nile. The inhabitants of new settlements are usually drawn from the thickly populated provinces and are selected according to age, marital status and number of children. The construction of these settlements is thought of as an effective means for relieving the overcrowded provinces of their excess population as well as developing neglected regions.