Regional development of the Aswan region of Egypt with special reference to the Aswan High Dam

Abstract

This study is concerned with the problems of regional development. In modern times, the different institutions within the nation-state have multiplied in number and increased in size and complexity so that it is becoming more and more difficult for these institutions, functioning centrally, to achieve economic and social progress and to create efficient political and administrative systems. Local diversities and interests as well as national goals need to be observed and coordinated in order to achieve the required progress. Accordingly many countries are now tending to develop regional systems to suit their particular conditions, the aim being to lessen the risk of the central institutions' monopolizing political, economic and social powers, and at the same time to keep individual regions integrated into a single coherent unit for the good of the nation as a whole and for the good of the regions themselves. The present work comprises two parts. Part One deals with definitions and some general problems of regional development. For the purpose of exemplifying these generalisations, as well as glancing at the background of Aswan Region, we shall refer at this stage to some cases from Egypt. Part Two deals with regional development in the Aswan Region of Egypt. This Region may provide a useful example of economic and social development related to planned growth. The Aswan High Dam and the intensive development programmes in the Region play an important role in the changes that are taking place both in that Region and in the rest of Egypt. Part Two will also examine the background of Aswan Region, describing the High Dam and evaluating its consequences, then evaluating the regional development of Aswan Region and considering how far the concept of regional planning is applicable to the activities taking place there. The study, it is emphasized, is intended to be primarily a descriptive and analytical one, and no attempt is made to construct mathematical regional and interregional models.