Building Controversy
The decision to build this dam was discussed for over 40 years. Originally, the British built the Aswan Low dam, or Old Aswan dam. This dam could not control the flow well, and nearly 50 years after construction, The Egyptian president, Gamel Abdel Nasser, wanted to build a new dam. He wanted funding assistance from the UK and US in 1956, during the Cold War, but they declined due to his ties to the Soviet Union. He captured the Suez Canal in Israel, then asked for funding from the Soviet Union and was granted it. The construction of the dam was far more expensive than planned, and forced over 150,000 people to relocate. Many critics say the construction of the dam was unwise.