On this day, 54 years ago, on January 15, 1971 (December 19, 1970, the Aswan Dam in Egypt was officially opened. Aswan is located "under the first rapid beach" south of Cairo, the capital of Egypt, and on the east bank of the Nile River, the world's second largest river. Construction of the Aswan Dam began in 1960 and was completed at the end of 1970. It was officially put into use on January 15, 1971. Egyptian President Nasser and then General Secretary of the Soviet Union Kosykin personally unveiled it. The dam is located in the mountain pass 6 kilometers south of Aswan. It consists of three parts: the main dam, the spillway and the power station. The main dam has a total length of 3600 meters, a dam foundation width of 980 meters, a dam crest width of 40 meters, and a dam height of 111 meters. The building materials used are about 43 million cubic meters, and its volume is equivalent to 17 times that of the Great Pyramid of Khufu in the western suburbs of Cairo. The dam is a comprehensive utilization project integrating flood control, irrigation, shipping, and power generation. The water conservancy project was presided over by Egyptian President Nasser. He nationalized the Suez Canal to raise funds, and after Britain and the United States refused to provide loans, the Soviet Union designed the preliminary projects and provided equipment for a power station. The completion of the dam has played a huge role in Egypt's social development. Lake Nasser, which is formed more than 500 kilometers to the south, provides Egypt with reasonable utilization of water sources, supplies half of Egypt's electricity needs, and prevents the Nile River from flooding every year.