Great Man Made River  -  لــنهر الصــناعي العظـــيم

Water usage - The Great Man Made River (GMMR)

The expanding economy and growing population along the fertile coastal strip of the Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya is creating an increasing demand for water for irrigation, for industry and for domestic and municipal use. At the same time, the traditional water resources are becoming increasingly at risk through intensive use which is resulting in saline intrusion of the coastal aquifer. This phenomenon would, if unchecked, turn agricultural lands into infertile sabkha.

With the realization of the Great Man-made River Project, an economic and plentiful new source of fresh water is being made available. This will reduce extraction of water from the coastal aquifer, as agriculture ceases to be dependent on existing water wells. The new source of water will, therefore, protect and enhance the fertility of the soil.

Total amount of water conveyed by the Great Man Made River Project will be over 6.0 million cubic meters per day or approximately 2,100 million cubic meters per year and will be allocated as follows: