On Sunday, Egyptian President al-Sisi inaugurated a number of land improvement projects as part of the Tushka or "New Valley" project. This is an Egyptian national project with a canal at its center, around which new agricultural and industrial communities are to be established.

Hence the name of the new valley compared to the Nile Valley.

The project itself was launched in 1997 at the behest of President Mubarak and was supposed to be ready in 2017. However in 2008 the Egyptians abandoned the plan due to corruption and mismanagement.

President al-Sisi has decided to revive the ambitious project, among other things, to reduce wheat imports to Egypt. It now remains to be seen whether the Egyptians will find the funding and management capabilities appropriate for such a project.