Substantial tunnelling work could take place in Africa if recent discussions on river diversion lead to actual projects. Huge amounts of water would be transferred to parched countries.
The Southern African Development Community (SADC), a body of 14 nation members, has been discussing the possibility of further diversions in southern Africa in the light of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project.
The SADC meeting at Windhoek, Namibia, reached broad agreement to share valuable water resources, and were presented with plans by hydrologists to revive drought-stricken areas of Botswana and Namibia using diverted flows from rivers such as the Orange and Vaal.
Such diversions would be huge and need to cut across intervening watersheds possibly by tunnel.
The countries to benefit have river valleys which have not flowed for decades.
But according to London press reports, the SADC is a talking shop that produces little but expressions of good intentions. Similar schemes have happened, however, in Lesotho and in China.
