| Intermediate English with Engineering | |||||
The Great Man-Made River Project, Libya.
Water is a scarce and precious commodity in much of the world, and desert countries like Libya face serious problems finding enough fresh water. As populations rise and industrialisation increases, the demand for water escalates and long-term solutions need to be found.
The Great Man-Made River Project was inaugurated in August 1984 in Libya by Colonel Gaddafi.
The Great Man-Made River Project is in fact a network of pipelines, constructed in a series of phases, which takes water from the desert aquifers to the coastal cities, and eventually to irrigate agricultural land. The scale of the project is impressive. As well as the 4-metre diameter pipes which carry the water throughout the network, the project requires huge reservoirs and holding tanks, new wells, pumping stations and chlorination plants.
When the project began, Libya did not have the engineering experience required and now Libya is a world leader in hydrological engineering.
The project transforms the lives of people who for the first time have access to fresh water. But perhaps the most ambitious aspect of the project is the plan to use water for agriculture. Libya hopes to be able to end its dependence on imports for crops such as wheat and oats by irrigating 130,000 hectares of land for farming. In some of the coastal areas the soil is very fertile. Eventually, it hopes to start exporting crops to Europe and the Middle East.
The Three Gorges Dam China
Some say the Three Gorges Dam was China's largest engineering project since the Great Wall. The dam stretches nearly a half-mile (0.8 kilometers) high and spans a mile and a half (2.4 kilometers) wide, creating a reservoir big enough to bring massive cargo ships 1,500 miles (2,414 kilometers) inland. A team of 20,000 workers in round-the-clock shifts constructed the Three Gorges Dam, which was completed in 2009. More than 1.5 million people relocated to make way for the construction of the dam, and 100 towns were leveled in the process. The dam's turbines generate nearly 10 percent of China's electricity supply. After the dam's completion, China continues with its post-construction plan, which includes eco-management and helping people get settled after relocation
The Big Dig in Boston
Boston's Big Dig, one of the most complicated engineering projects in the world and the most expensive public works project in the United States, finally opened in 2003, five years behind schedule and 30 years in the making. With an original price tag of around $4 billion (figure adjusted for inflation), the Big Dig ended up costing more than $14 billion. Workers constructed the Big Dig while traffic roared overhead on Boston's main highway, Interstate 93. Giant boring machines pushed prefabricated tunnel sections below frozen earth and beneath existing underground train lines. Rearranging centuries-old gas, water, electric, phone and cable lines further complicated building a new tunnel with as many as four highway lanes in each direction. The project also included a tunnel to Logan Airport as well as a cable-stayed bridge to replace the double-decker truss bridge over the Charles River.
Admirers hail it as an architectural wonder. Ultimately, the project demolished the city's main traffic artery that for years split the city down the middle, and it created a new landscape that will one day be teeming with parks and green space.
The Dubai Canal
In terms of engineering, most things having to do with Dubai are spectacular, and the Arabian Canal is no exception. Some sources claim it will be the world's longest man-made canal, measuring 46.6 miles (75 kilometers) long. Also known as the Dubai Canal, this waterway brings water inland to the vast desert from the Arabian Gulf. The elaborate plan includes creating a desert oasis along the entire stretch of the canal.
The Ryugyong Hotel, North Korea
The world's wackiest hotel has 105 stories and 3,000 rooms, but absolutely no one is allowed to stay in it. Construction on the concrete hulk began in 1987 but stalled in the early '90s when funding dried up, leaving behind a massive, empty shell. The Ryugyong Hotel, which looms over the skyline in Pyongyang, North Korea, is impossible to miss. Depending on how you look at it, the hotel resembles a rocket about to take off into a magical Communist utopia of the future, or somewhere a James Bond villain might like to hang out.
Recently, reports suggest that work is beginning again on the unfinished top floors. Plans include completing the exterior of the building's pinnacle and constructing one of the five revolving restaurants that were originally planned for the hotel.
The World Archipelago
One of the world's largest artificial land masses the World Archipelago sits about 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) off the coast of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Originally planned as 300 tiny private islands, the archipelago was going to be a luxury paradise for the super rich, who could buy their country or land mass of choice, each with a price tag between $15 million and $45 million.
That was the dream, anyway. Though developers claim that 70 percent of the islands have sold, early rumors about celebrity tenants like Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie occupying the Ethiopia island have turned out to be false. Many observers, examining recent satellite footage, suspect that the sandy artificial islands are beginning to sink back into the sea.
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