“The Wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose; It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice, even with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the excellence of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the LORD, the excellency of our God” (Isa 35:1-3 NKJV).
For all desert peoples, this has been an exciting prospect which has come true in a few places. Now the nation of Libya is undertaking one of the most ambitious engineering projects in the world in an attempt to make the country’s deserts productive.
Libya’s man-made river
The so-called Great Man-Made River (GMR) is billed by the Libyan Government as nothing short of the “biggest civil engineering project” ever undertaken anywhere in the world. The project aims to bring an eventual six million cubic meters per day of fossil water from beneath the Sahara for use along the coast. On completion, the scheme could comprise over 2,500 miles of pipeline, providing Libya with an integrated national water grid.
A February, 1996 article in the Middle East Magazine highlighted the importance of the water project. “From its inception 11 years ago, the GMR has enjoyed the highest priority. For Colonel Gadaffi, it is of crucial political significance. He hopes it will allow Libya to become self-sufficient in food, and thereby gain a wider measure of political independence. In Libya’s 1995 budget alone, the GMR was allocated $1.6 billion — 17% of the country’s spending for the year.”
Whatever the expense, there is no doubt Libya desperately needs water. Over 90% of the country is arid desert. Traditionally, Libyans have depended on underground water supplies along the coast. But the rapid economic and urban expansion of recent decades has caused severe over-exploitation of the coastal reserves. Water levels have fallen and sea water has infiltrated the aquifers. Desalination plants can offer only part of the answer.
More than just flowers
Despite the apparent innocence of these plans, Libya is apparently planning to achieve more than the growing of crops. The GMR project is divided into two distinct parts.
Although both phases have received funding via the International Monetary Fund, the Americans fear more than just flowers will bloom in the desert as a result of this project. Unquestionably, the first phase will provide water for agricultural purposes. Two pipe manufacturing plants are being built and 1,200 miles of 12-foot diameter pipeline are being laid. It is the second phase of the project which causes the American government and Western intelligence sources to question the validity of the project.
In-mountain reservoir
In the second phase, a most unusual water storage reservoir is to be built. The Libyan government has decided to store the water in a hollowed-out mountain rather than the usual above ground water storage method. Indications are, however, that the vast in-ground area is for more than storage of water.
The New York Times for February 25, 1996 commented: “Libya is close to completing the world’s largest underground chemical weapons storage facility and plant in a hollowed-out mountain 40 miles southeast of Tripoli, United States intelligence services say. The subterranean plant may be completed in 1997 or 1998 and is said to cover six square miles. It already stores most of Libya’s stockpile of chemical weapons — about 100 tons.” The article went on to state: “German intelligence services have obtained copies of construction plans and building specifications. The German services obtained them from a number of German and Austrian companies, which sent construction personnel and equipment to help build the tunnel for the plant.”
Suspicions are well founded
The Western intelligence suspicions have been raised for good reasons.
- * Outside of the NORAD system in Colorado, this is the first hollowed-out mountain water reservoir that has been constructed.
- * Libya has been working on chemical and biological weapons since the early 1980’s. It has built a plant at Rabta, southwest of Tripoli, with the assistance of German companies. As is expected, the Libyan government claims the plant is nothing more than a factory capable of manufacturing pharmaceuticals.
- * The viability of the water project is brought into question by a simple fact: there is a serious shortage of farmers to till the reclaimed land. Libya has a population of about 4 million, and in the past 40 years a massive rural-urban migration has occurred.
- * Libya has refused to sign a 1993 United Nations convention banning the use, development and storage of chemical weapons.
- * Libya has purchased from North , Korea Scud missiles with a range of 180 to 300 miles, and could convert them into a chemical arsenal to threaten its neighbors.
Destruction in the name of water
Once GMR project is fully analyzed, one suspects Gadaffi is intending to destroy rather than build up. As a constant enemy of Israel, one can only anticipate in which direction Libya’s Scud missiles will point.
All of the world’s deserts will bloom one day. It will be through God’s direction, however, and not man’s invention that this great hope will be realized. Let us pray the day will quickly come.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One