of modernizing Egypt's irrigation system. But this also meant trouble for Mougel Bey as he and Linant had always been opposed to each other. Each had his own design for the Nile Barrages, and Mougel's had been preferred. Linant left sufficiently on record his jealousy of his rival, and seems to have come easily to the conclusion that his rival's Barrage was a costly failure, of no more use than those useless old Pyramids a few miles off. Under Abbas Hilmi I Muhammad Ali Pasha died in 1848 without seeing the Delta dams completed. He was succeeded by his grandson Abbas Hilmi I, (1848–1854) whose known contempt towards his grandfather caused him to halt or entirely abandon most of Muhammad Ali Pasha's massive projects, including the Delta Barrages. Abbas Pasha had no faith in the project and wished to abandon the construction of the dams. He dismissed Mougel Bey in April, 1853, and placed Mazhar Bey in charge of the work. Sensing his master's lack of enthusiasm for the project, Mazhar Bey, a Turkish engineer, did not do much to finish the work which would only be completed later during the time of Egypt's next Wali from Muhammad Ali Dynasty, Sa'id Pasha. Under Sa'id Pasha Under Sa'id Pasha's rule (1854–1863) there were several reforms as he tried to portray himself as the new great reformer. Some modernization of Egyptian and Sudanese infrastructure occurred using western loans. During this period, the Nizarah (or Ministry) of Public Works was established in 1857. It actually comprised many departments like the departments of Railroads, Telegraphs, Surveying, Building Construction, Agriculture, Alexandria Harbor, Antiquity, the Opera House, the Zoological Garden, the Aquarium Garden, Sewage, and Irrigation. Linant continued in charge of public works, as director general beginning with 1862, and as Minister of Public Works in 1869. He retired from this post in the same year (1869) and in 1873 was given the title Pasha by Khedieve Ismail Pasha. The Suez Canal In 1854 the first act of concession of land for the Suez Canal was granted to a French diplomat Ferdinand de Lesseps. Actual construction of the maritime canal lasted for 11 years (1858–1869). From its early start, design and construction work of this international waterway were kept out of the Department of Public Works and was totally handled by the Suez Canal Company, which would become a state within the state and would later