In the upcoming months, Ethiopia will formally open the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), bringing Africa’s largest hydropower project closer to completion.
The Ethiopian House of People’s Representatives was informed by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) that the GERD would be launched in the upcoming six months. The dam is currently in its last stage of development, having started 15 years ago under former Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.
The prime minister also discussed the project’s continued diplomatic relations with Egypt. According to him, Ethiopia has made a number of offers and is still willing to discuss any issues with the building and operation of the project. High-level discussions with Egypt’s Ministry of Security have been part of the discussions.
According to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam Project Coordination Office, the GERD is currently 97.6% finished, with only finishing touches needed. Over 180 billion birr has been invested so far in the dam, which was originally estimated to cost 80 billion birr ($4.5 billion). It is anticipated that an extra 80 billion birr will be required to complete construction.
Over 20 billion birr have been donated to the project by the Ethiopian public, and the government hopes to raise an additional 1.6 billion birr this year to help see it through to completion.
Two of the GERD’s turbines are currently producing 540 megawatts of energy. When fully operational, it is anticipated to generate 5,150 megawatts, greatly increasing Ethiopia’s energy supply and facilitating the export of electricity to its neighbors. Plans call for the dam to eventually contain 74 billion cubic meters of water, up from its current 42 billion cubic meters.
Even though the GERD is important for Ethiopia’s economic development and energy security, it has been a major source of regional conflict, especially with Egypt and Sudan. Egypt has frequently expressed worries about the project’s effect on the flow of water in the Nile, leading to years of diplomatic problems. Ethiopia, on the other hand, contends that the talks should go beyond colonial-era accords that it considers out of date and maintains that the GERD will not hurt downstream nations.
Ethiopia, Egypt, and Sudan have engaged in several rounds of tripartite negotiations over the last 13 years, but no definitive deal has been reached. Ethiopia contends that Cairo’s stance has been rigid, while Egypt holds Ethiopia responsible for the stalled conversation.
