Addis Ababa (AFP) – 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. Speaking in parliament, Abiy said Gerd “is now complete, and we are preparing for its official inauguration”.
Addis Ababa has deemed the dam vital for its electrification programme, but it has long been a source of tensions with downstream nations Egypt and Sudan who worry it will affect their water supply. “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,” Abiy said.
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.
© 2024 AFP
