Today Egypt is once again undertaking a bold project that would in effect create a new Nile delta. Canal of Toshka or the Sheikh Zayed Canal is the building block of the project; the artery that will bring 25 millions cubic meters of water per day to cultivate about 2,268sq km (a bit less than the area of Luxembourg) in Toshka and New Valley region. The ongoing Egyptian national mega project of Toshka is a prosecution of a better water management and development of the irrigation system in the country where the Nile River on its course is entirely regulated by the Aswan High Dam.

The Egyptian officials in Cairo describe it as the project that will turn one of the most inhospitable parts of the world in to a blooming garden. They speak of industrial cities in the desert, which will overpass everything that was built around Cairo in the past 20 years, of farms greener than desert estates around Alexandria, gold and phosphate mines on the Sudanese border and a new civilization that will reach the distant oases of Kharga and Fargha. They talk about a new Nile 310km long and the largest pumping station ever build. In the next twenty years between 5 and 10 million people should move into the hart of the Sahara desert. The first phase extension of Nile water to irrigate 50,4sq km was announced for October 2002 war victory celebrations.

"The desert is beautiful," Abdel Ati El Samman, Chief engineer of first 30 kilometres of Toshka canal, said. Work at Toshka canal started in January 1997. First phase of the project includes excavating the main canal with a length of 50km and erecting a giant lifting station. In the meantime time the investors in the project have created four experimental plantations to produce seedlings for cultivation once the irrigation system is fully operational. The area suits high-value cash crops, with high temperatures allowing four or perhaps even five crops a year. Off-season crops could provide a comparative advantage over export rivals. Investors understand Toshka as a long-term investment with very high revenue, relative to other long-term investments all over the world.