Aswan Dam droughts in 1972–73 and 1983–87 that devastated East and West Africa. The High Dam allowed Egypt to reclaim about 2.0 million feddan (840,000 hectares) in the Nile Delta and along the Nile Valley, increasing the country's irrigated area by a third. The increase was brought about both by irrigating what used to be desert and by bringing under cultivation of 385,000 ha that were previously used as flood retention basins. About half a million families were settled on these new lands. In particular the area under rice and sugar cane cultivation increased. In addition, about 1 million feddan (420,000 hectares),
Maskeliya Dam Maskeliya Dam The Maskeliya Dam (also known as the Maussakelle Dam) is a large gravity dam at Maskeliya, in the Central Province of Sri Lanka. Along with the Castlereigh Dam, the dams are the highest point and beginning of the Laxapana Hydropower Complex, involving a number of dams, penstocks, and hydroelectric power stations. The dam creates the Maskeliya Reservoir over the route of Maskeliya Oya, a major tributary of the Kelani River, which is the 4th longest in the country. A penstock from the Maskeliya Reservoir, measuring in diameter, transfers water directly to the Canyon Hydroelectric Power Station, located further