China's agritech provides water to Egypt's massive beet sugar refinery in the Sahara Desert

[WORLD] In Egypt’s West Minya region, a massive agricultural transformation is unfolding at the edge of the Sahara. Chinese firm Zhongman Petroleum has drilled nearly 200 groundwater wells over the past three years, turning a 500-hectare desert area into fertile farmland. This land now supplies Canal Sugar, which operates the world’s largest beet sugar factory with an annual production capacity of 900,000 tonnes.

The project is a result of international collaboration, with backing from investors in the UAE and Egypt. To overcome the region’s challenging groundwater conditions, Zhongman employed an innovative method known as air-foam drilling. This technique replaces the typical mud-based method with a mixture of air and foaming agents, which improves drilling efficiency and minimizes water loss.

The success of the West Minya project has had a ripple effect. Egyptian drilling companies have begun adopting air-foam drilling to tackle aquifer instability and well collapse risks. The transformation of desert into productive agricultural land showcases the role of advanced engineering and cross-border investment in reshaping food security in arid regions.

Implications

For Egypt’s agriculture and food security:

This project supports Egypt’s goal of reducing reliance on imported sugar and improving food self-sufficiency. By converting desert into arable land, the country is not only expanding domestic production but also building resilience against global supply disruptions.

For regional cooperation and foreign investment:

The project underscores the growing influence of China and the Gulf in Africa’s infrastructure and agricultural sectors. It highlights a shift toward South-South cooperation, where developing economies collaborate on transformative projects rather than relying solely on Western support.

For technology diffusion in arid environments:

The adoption of air-foam drilling signals a broader shift toward environmentally adaptive technologies in harsh climates. As Egyptian firms begin replicating the method, it may spur further innovation in sustainable water management across North Africa and the Middle East.

What we think

This ambitious sugar project is about more than beets and irrigation—it’s a signal of how infrastructure, innovation, and international capital can converge to rewrite the limits of arable land. Egypt’s arid zones, once dismissed as uninhabitable, are being reimagined as engines of agro-industrial growth.

“Drilling through the desert to harvest sugar is a striking example of climate adaptation paired with economic ambition.” The success of this project could inspire similar efforts across Africa’s drylands, provided ecological risks like aquifer depletion are carefully managed.

For China, the project reinforces its role as an enabler of strategic development, not just through funding but also through technology transfer. It also affirms the Gulf states' increasing appetite for investments that align with both food security and regional influence.

Ultimately, this is a test case for scalable desert agriculture—and for now, it's one that's producing sweet returns.