Undesired consequences of the project
Besides the positive effects described here, negative consequences caused by
the construction of the High Dam, foreseen by some whose voices remained
unheard at the time, became clearly visible to everyone in the decades that
followed. It had not been opportune during Nasser’s time to voice doubts
about the realization of the ambitious aims. Sadat, who was the first person
to attack the policies of his predecessor in public, at times had to speak out
against critics of the High Dam, since the Egyptian people identified them-
selves so much with the project then that anything negative said about the
dam was unacceptable. When a drought phase occurred in East Africa between
1979 and 1984 during which the Nile discharge was less than half its mean
amount, this enhanced support for those who had always been in favour of
the High Dam. However, gradually the people’s opinions changed when the
negative ecological impact became obvious all over