Ethiopia's mega dam on the Nile 'now complete': PM

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia: Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Thursday said a multi-billion-dollar mega-dam on the Blue Nile that has long worried neighbouring countries is complete and will be officially inaugurated in September.

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), launched in 2011 with a $4-billion budget, is considered Africa’s largest hydroelectric project stretching 1.8 kilometres (just over one mile) wide and 145 metres (475 feet) high.

Addis Ababa says it is vital for its electrification programme but it has been a source of tensions with downstream nations Egypt and Sudan who worry it will affect their water supply.

Speaking in parliament, Abiy said GERD “is now complete, and we are preparing for its official inauguration”.

“To our neighbours downstream — Egypt and Sudan — our message is clear: the Renaissance Dam is not a threat, but a shared opportunity,” he added.

“The energy and development it will generate stand to uplift not just Ethiopia.”

Ethiopia first began generating electricity at the project, located in the northwest of the country around 30 km from the border with Sudan, in February 2022.

At full capacity the huge dam can hold as much as 74 billion cubic metres of water and could generate more than 5,000 megawatts of power — more than double Ethiopia’s current output.

The east African country is the second most populous on the continent with a rapidly growing population currently estimated at 130 million and has growing electricity needs.

Around half the population lives without electricity, according to estimates earlier this year by the World Bank.

Opposition

Egypt and Sudan have voiced concerns about GERD’s operation without a three-way agreement, fearing it could threaten their access to vital Nile waters. Negotiations have failed to make a breakthrough.

Egypt, which is already suffering from severe water scarcity, sees the dam as an existential threat because it relies on the Nile for 97 percent of its water needs.

But Abiy said Addis Ababa is “willing to engage constructively”, adding that the project will “not come at the expense” of either Egypt or Sudan.

“We believe in shared progress, shared energy, and shared water,” he said.

“Prosperity for one should mean prosperity for all.”

The position of fragile Sudan, which is currently mired in a civil war, has fluctuated in recent years.