115 Flood Defences Now Protect Marsa Alam, El Quseir, Ras Ghareb, Safaga and Shalateen - 42 Still Being Built
The irrigation minister toured El Quseir's flood works before the rainy season, setting out a programme covering 38 wadis, with 73 of 115 structures finished and the rest under construction.
26 September 2026
An integrated flood-protection system covering Marsa Alam, El Quseir, Ras Ghareb, Safaga and Shalateen is being built through 115 protection structures, of which 73 are finished and 42 still under construction, Water Resources and Irrigation Minister Hani Sweilem said during a field tour of the Red Sea Governorate on Thursday 17 September, according to Al-Masry Al-Youm and Youm7.
The ministry has targeted 38 wadis in the governorate for protection works, chosen by priority and by the studies carried out on each, he said. The purpose of the tour was to check that flood channels and protection structures are ready for the coming season of heavy rain, able to take flood water and pass it safely or hold it in the artificial lakes built in front of the protection dams.
Sweilem inspected the works at Wadi El-Qoweih, about 30 kilometres north of El Quseir, looking at the artificial channel, the guide barrier and collection lake B1. That system is meant both to harvest rain and flood water for use and to protect development projects - the Qoweih farm foremost among them - along with the main roads linking El Quseir to neighbouring towns.
He also inspected Wadi El-Ambagi at El Quseir, where the works include a lake, three main barriers, a secondary barrier and lake B3, plus an Irish crossing - a low ford that keeps traffic moving while water is running. The storage capacity of the Ambagi lakes reaches about 10 million cubic metres.
He was accompanied by Dr Magda Hanna Bebawy, deputy governor of the Red Sea, and Maj. Gen. Ahmed Sakr, head of El Quseir city, along with ministry officials. Masrawy reported the ministry puts its protection structures nationwide at 1,648.
The reports do not give a completion date for the 42 outstanding structures, nor their cost.
This site reported on 16 September that Hurghada had run its own checks on the dam, culverts and flood channels north of the city. Between them the two exercises cover most of the populated coast - which matters because when flash floods come here, it is the desert roads inland that close first.