Libya's Great Man Made River (GMMR)

[2pac Shakur]

Muammar Gaddafi: "After this achievement, American threats against Libya will double... The United States will make excuses, but the real reason is to stop this achievement, to keep the people of Libya oppressed"

[...]
After the bloodless revolution of 1969, also on September 1, the new government nationalised the oil companies and spent much of the oil revenues to harness the supply of fresh water from the desert aquifers by putting in hundreds of bore wells. Muammar Gaddafi’s dream was to provide fresh water for everyone, and to turn the desert green, making Libya self-sufficient in food production. He established large farms and encouraged the people to move to the desert. But many preferred life on the coast and wouldn’t go.

So Gaddafi next conceived a plan to bring the water to the people. Feasibility studies were carried out by the Libyan government in the seventies and in 1983 the Great Man-made River Authority was set up. The project began the following year, fully funded by the Libyan government. The almost $30 billion cost to date has been without the need of any international loans. Nor has there been any charge on the people, who do not pay for their reticulated water, which is regarded in Libya to be a human right and therefore free.

http://www.mathaba.net/news/?x=628492

That *******! Good thing we are freeing Libya of his oppression.
NATO is now on the scene. Saving lives...

Forces loyal to ousted leader Muammar Gaddafi have choked off Tripoli's water supply and water engineers have not yet managed to reach the pumping stations at Jebel Hassouna, 700km south of the capital, which are now in the hands of forces loyal to the NTC.

The International Committee of the Red Cross has offered its plane to fly the engineers south but the flight is still awaiting security clearance, the ECHO document said.

"The problem of shortage of drinking water in Tripoli and other towns in the western part of Libya remains acute as there is no solution in sight for the resumption of water supply through the Great Man-Made River (GMMR)," it said.

The Great Man-Made River is a vast pipeline network that brings water to coastal cities from beneath the Sahara desert.

To combat the water shortage, aid agencies are rushing to deliver water by truck and by ship, but if the problem persists, public health will be endangered, the ECHO document said.

http://www.news24.com/Africa/News/Tr...ys-EU-20110901

That should save lots of lives (and make lots of money).