On 10 August, MEI Non-Resident Scholar Malak Altaeb published a report on 'What's next for Libya's Great Man-Made River Project?'. Altaeb recounts the history and development of the Qaddafi-era civil engineering scheme, the Great Man-Made River Project (GMMRP). Altaeb details how the GMMRP, which began in 1983, sought to deliver water across Libya through a network of underground pipes and was delivered as a most cost-effective solution to water scarcity than desalination. However, Altaeb says the GMMRP's development has been 'marred by crony capitalism and nationalist policymaking', especially since the fall of the Qaddafi regime in 2011. Altaeb explains the project has faced attacks, vandalism, and development has stalled with the third and fourth phases of GMMRP still incomplete. Altaeb says the current challenges facing the GMMRP are: weakened oversight and supervision, political instability and volatile economic situations, lacking stable power supplies, and attacks on the GMMRP by the Libyan National Army (LNA), militias, and other actors seeking to withhold water supply for political aims. Altaeb concludes by commending what the GMMRP has done to ensure water access for agricultural and domestic use across Libya, citing that in 2017 the project delivered 2.5 million cubic meters of water daily. However, Altaeb warns that Libya cannot rely solely on the GMMRP given continuing political and economic instability that has underscored the vulnerability of the project, which is under constant threat of attack and mismanagement.
Read the full report here.