Sarabium Siphon to be completed by end of 2019

CAIRO - 11 June 2019: The construction of Sarabium Siphon in the Suez Canal axis will be completed by the end of the year, Ismailiya Governor Hamdy Othman announced on Tuesday.

Sarabium is aimed at resolving the water scarcity and desertification problems eastern the Suez Canal. The project will contribute to the reclamation of 200 feddans eastern the Suez Canal.


Drilling works in Sarabium Siphon project - Press Photo

The siphon consists of four reservoirs. The depth and width of each is 60 meters and 18 meters, respectively. Every reservoir is connected to a horizontal tunnel whose length is 420 meters while its width is 4 meters. The tunnels lie 54 meters beneath the Suez Canal’s surface, and 16 meters below the seabed. Such distances give room for further expansion in the future. The cost of the project is LE3 billion.


Drilling works in Sarabium Siphon project - Press Photo

The Ismailiya governor described Sarabium as the savior of agricultural lands located eastern the Suez Canal from desertification. After the completion of the project, the amount of water transported from Delta and Nile Valley on one hand to Sinai on the other hand will be boosted to 16 cubic meters per day from 5 cubic meters per day when the project was launched in April 2016. Seventy-five percent of the project was finished in August 2017.


Workers in Sarabium Siphon project - Press Photo

The governor added that 1.25 million cubic meters of water will be transferred by Mahsama siphon to Temsah Lake eastern the Canal, and to lands in Sinai for irrigation. The Mahsama siphon consists of four reservoirs connected to two tunnels placed 60 meters beneath the Canal’s surface and below the seabed. The construction of the project started in January 2018 and is underway.