thumb|300px|schematic drawing of the project. note that different routes have been proposed for the not-yet-implemented phases (dashed). tobruk may for instance end up connected to ajdabiya instead of to the jaghboub well field. the great man-made river (gmr, ) is a network of pipes that supplies water to the sahara desert in libya, from the nubian sandstone aquifer system fossil aquifer. it is the world's largest irrigation project.guinness world records 2008 book. isbn 978-1-904994-18-3 according to its website, it is the largest underground network of pipes ()keys, d., 2011, libya tale of two fundamentally different cities, bbc knowledge asia edition, vol.3 issue 7 and aqueducts in the world. it consists of more than 1,300 wells, most more than 500 m deep, and supplies 6,500,000 m3 of fresh water per day to the cities of tripoli, benghazi, sirte and elsewhere. the late libyan leader muammar gaddafi described it as the "eighth wonder of the world."water-technology == history == thumb|300px|transport of pipe segments. thumb|300px|trench digging.   in 1953, efforts to find oil in southern libya led to the discovery of large quantities of fresh water underground. the great man-made river project (gmrp) was conceived in the late 1960s and work on the project began in 1984. the project's construction was divided into five phases. the first phase required 85 million mÂ³ of excavation and was inaugurated on 28 august 1991. the second phase (dubbed first water to tripoli) was inaugurated on 1 september 1996. the project is owned by the great man-made river project authority and was funded by the gaddafi government. the primary contractor for the first phases was dong ah consortium and the present main contractor is al nahr company ltd. the imported goods were made in korea and destined to the construction of the gmr arrived by sea via the entry port of brega (gulf of sidra). the rest of goods were made in libya. the total cost of the project is projected at more than us$25 billion.{{cite web|last=scholl|first=adam|titl
Economy_of_Libya Geography_of_Libya Muammar_Gaddafi