Water reaches Gharyan and Al-Araban after an attack
LIBYA – Ahmed Al-Dheeb, head of the administrative committee of the Great Man-Made River Project Implementation and Management Authority, announced that water had officially begun flowing to the cities of Gharyan and Al-Araban, revealing details of an attack that caused a large volume of water to be lost before it reached the Bouzayan reservoir.
Speaking in an appearance on Libya Al-Ahrar TV, which broadcasts from Turkey and was followed by Al-Marsad, Al-Dheeb said the Authority had kept its promises to beneficiaries of water from the central path, explaining that Gharyan’s internal network and the feeder line to Al-Araban were opened at midday on Saturday and that water is flowing to both.
He added that the Man-Made River system stretches across thousands of kilometres, noting that an incident was recorded before the pumping station in the Al-Rabita area while works were being completed and the water’s arrival was being monitored.
Al-Dheeb said an attacker opened overnight a valve reserved for emergency maintenance and water discharge, causing about 80,000 cubic metres to leak into the valleys instead of reaching the Bouzayan reservoir.
He said Authority teams managed to close the valve and restore the flow, expressing regret at the repeated attacks and stressing the need to recognise the value of this resource.
Al-Dheeb praised the teams working to deliver water from the Al-Hassawna well fields in high temperatures and into the late hours, affirming that the protection battalion is doing its duty despite the vast area and the presence of about 45,000 facilities and valves that are hard to secure all at once.
He said the Authority was in contact with security directorates in the geographic area of the Al-Rabita station to intervene and protect the resource, calling for tighter monitoring near pumping stations to prevent further attacks.
