Originally built by the British between 1898 and 1902. Made of granite and Portland Concrete, this dam is 1.25 miles in length, 126 feet high, and approximately 126 feet wide. There were 780,000 cubic yards of masonry used to build this dam. The Old Aswan Dam was capable of storing 100,000,000 tons water, and could pass 1,000,000 tons a minute through 180 gates.

On the western side of the dam there are four locks. This serves as a passage for boats and steamer traffic.

The government tried to upgrade this dam twice. The first being in 1912 to heighten the dam. The second ocurred in 1932 to double the dams storing capacity. These two upgrades were insufficient, so they then started work on the High Aswan Dam.