Seventy-seven years ago today, on March 27, 1948 (February 17, 1948 lunar calendar), the Egyptian king laid the foundation stone for the Aswan Dam. Farouq laid the first stone on March 27, 1948. King Farouq, wearing black glasses, a mustache and a round felt hat, laid the foundation stone on the foundation of a new dam that would bring honor to his country. The hydroelectric power plant will be built on the upper reaches of the Nile River, where the water is strongest in the billowing river. The builders estimate that the power plant will generate up to 2 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year. The dam requires the same stone used to build temples and statues of ancient pharaohs, from the same stone yards. The monuments were built over decades; Farouq's House predicts that the dam will be built within five years. Less optimistic outside engineers think it will take 12 years to complete. The first Aswan dam was built in 1902 with British support. The work currently underway is largely co-financed by Americans and Britons. Why is there such a long delay between the two dams? Egypt needs more than just financial backers before it embarks on the treatment of the longest river. It also needs to rearrange the relocation of thousands of people and weigh the value of some Roman and Egyptian sites in the Nile basin that cannot be compensated for if they are lost.