New Halfa Scheme

The New Halfa Scheme in Sudan is a 164,000 feddan site constructed in 1964 to house 50,000 Nubians displaced from Wadi Halfa, a town situated on the Nile near the border with Egypt, which was drowned when Lake Nasser formed behind the Aswan Dam. The site draws its water from the Atbara River, where the Khashm el Girba Dam provides a reliable source for the irrigation scheme intended to convert the nomads of the area to farmers of cotton and sugar.

Amongst the problems faced by the settlers have been low crop yields, insufficient water for irrigation, low revenues, shortage of fuel, machinery and spare parts, and rising production costs.

The New Halfa Scheme has been viewed as inadequate compensation for the inundation of Wadi Halfa that occurred to allow Egypt to construct the Aswan Dam. The inhabitants of the New Halfa Scheme have not managed to attain a standard of living that is comparable or higher than the standard of living they had in Wadi Halfa. The developmental benefits of the Aswan Dam have arguably been vested in Egypt and not Sudan, as manifested by the New Halfa Scheme and its inhabitants.

References

• Service, Michael W (1989). Demography and Vector-Borne Diseases. CRC Press. ISBN 0-8493-4961-3
• World Bank (1994). Involuntary Resettlement in Africa. World Bank Publications. ISBN 0-8213-2632-5