- Ethiopia’s Prime Minister said that the multi-billion-dollar mega-dam on the Blue Nile, which has long worried neighbouring countries, is complete.
- Egypt, which is already suffering from severe water scarcity, sees the dam as an existential threat because it relies on the Nile for 97 per cent of its water needs.
Ethiopia‘s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said that the multi-billion-dollar mega-dam on the Blue Nile that has long worried neighbouring countries is complete and will be officially inaugurated in September. This he stated on Thursday, July 3.
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.
The East African country is the second most populous on the continent. Its population is rapidly growing, currently estimated at 130 million, and it has growing electricity needs.
Around half the population lives without electricity, according to estimates earlier this year by the World Bank.
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 per cent 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. Prosperity for one should mean prosperity for all,” he said.
The position of fragile Sudan, which is currently mired in a civil war, has fluctuated in recent years.