They are oil rich so can finance all the engineering and construction that they want, and if what you say is true, why did it all end with the execution of Khadafy. Khadafy was nuts, but he did have a vision, and it was a great vision. I hope they pick up at some point where he left off.
Does the Sahara have aquifers (perhaps deep well reachable?) that can be tapped to regreen the desert if funding were there to drill and pipe it and energy pump it out and around?