ISMAILIA, Egypt, 27 July 2005 — The chairman of Egypt’s Suez Canal Authority objected yesterday to a project to link the Dead Sea and the Red Sea, saying it would increase the risk of earthquakes in the Middle East.
“The two seas canal would lead to strong seismic activity in the region because of the rush of water,” Ahmed Ali Fadel told a news conference at the canal headquarters. The canal, designed to generate electricity for a desalination plant and to prevent the Dead Sea from drying up, would carry 850 million tons of water a year. Jordan, Israel and the Palestinians signed an agreement in May for a study into the building of the canal.
Fadel said the earthquake danger would be especially serious because the earth’s crust is thinner in the Gulf of Aqaba then anywhere else on earth. The water would come from the Gulf of Aqaba, which is part of the Red Sea, be pumped uphill and then run down into the Dead Sea, which lies below sea level.
The Egyptian official said the project would also provide Israel with water for cooling its nuclear reactor at Dimona.
“Adding a desalination plant means turning the Negev Desert area into an area of settlement after water and electricity are provided,” he added.
