Aswan Governorate Aswan Governorate Aswan Governorate ( ) is one of the governorates of Egypt. The southernmost governorate in Upper Egypt, its capital is Aswan. The Aswan Governorate borders Qena to the north, Red Sea Governorate to the east, New Valley Governorate to the west, and Sudan's Northern state to the south. It has a population of 1,394,687 inhabitants (2014), and occupies an area of 62,726 km². The rate of poverty is more than 60% in this governorate but recently some social safety networks have been provided in the form of financial assistance and job opportunities. The funding has been coordinated by
Aswan Low Dam on 10 December 1902, by HRH the Duke of Connaught and Strathearn. The project was designed by Sir William Willcocks and involved several eminent engineers of the time, including Sir Benjamin Baker and Sir John Aird, whose firm, John Aird & Co., was the main contractor. Capital and financing were furnished by Ernest Cassel. The Old Aswan Dam was designed as a gravity-buttress dam; the buttress sections accommodate numerous gates, which were opened yearly to pass the flood and its nutrient-rich sediments, but without retaining any yearly storage. The dam was constructed of rubble masonry and faced with red ashlar