130 Book of Engineering 



very much shorter of course by air, and 

 now new barrages are proposed in the 

 Sudan which will greatly increase the pro- 

 ductivity of that country. 



The great barrages are there as permanent 

 monuments of the skill of the engineer, but 

 what is often overlooked is the direct out- 

 come of such work as this. By making land 

 more fertile, a greater population can be 

 maintained in greater comfort. This popu- 

 lation can pay larger taxes, which means 

 that the Government has more to spend 

 on social services. Tremendous strides have 

 been made in education and social reform, 

 particularly as regards improvement of 

 health. All this has been possible through 

 the work of the splendid engineers who 

 first designed and then built those monu- 

 mental barrages which are so important to 

 Egypt. 



The most recent of the Nile barrages, the 

 Nagh Hamadi, was opened as recently as 

 December 1930. The work was carried out 

 by a British firm, Sir John Jackson Limited, 

 and it was begun in 1927. 



