Ethiopia's mega dam on the Nile ‘now complete'
ADDIS ABABA: Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Thursday said a multi-billion-dollar mega-dam on the Blue Nile that has long worried neighboring 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 kilometers (just over one mile) wide and 145 meters (475 feet) high.
Addis Ababa says it is vital for its electrification program 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 neighbors 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.'
The country 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 meters of water and could generate more than 5,000 megawatts of power - more than double Ethiopia's current output. The east African nation 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 of its people live 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.
Earlier this week, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi and Sudan's de facto leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan met and 'stressed their rejection of any unilateral measures in the Blue Nile Basin'. According to a statement by Sisi's spokesman, the two are committed to 'safeguard water security' in the region. 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.' - AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Kuwait Times
15 hours ago
- Kuwait Times
Ethiopia's mega dam on the Nile ‘now complete'
GUBA: A general view of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in Guba, Ethiopia. – AFP ADDIS ABABA: Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Thursday said a multi-billion-dollar mega-dam on the Blue Nile that has long worried neighboring 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 kilometers (just over one mile) wide and 145 meters (475 feet) high. Addis Ababa says it is vital for its electrification program 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 neighbors 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.' The country 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 meters of water and could generate more than 5,000 megawatts of power - more than double Ethiopia's current output. The east African nation 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 of its people live 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. Earlier this week, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi and Sudan's de facto leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan met and 'stressed their rejection of any unilateral measures in the Blue Nile Basin'. According to a statement by Sisi's spokesman, the two are committed to 'safeguard water security' in the region. 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.' - AFP
Kuwait Times
16 hours ago
- Kuwait Times
Austria deports Syrian convict in EU first since Assad fall
BUDAPEST: Austria's Federal Minister of the Interior Gerhard Karner attends a press conference on the expansion of the Schengen area, in Budapest on November 22, 2024.--AFP VIENNA, Austria: Austria on Thursday deported a Syrian criminal convict back to Syria, becoming the first EU country to do so officially 'in recent years', the interior ministry said. Austria has been pushing to be able to deport Syrians back since the ouster of Syria's leader Bashar Al-Assad in December. 'The deportation carried out today is part of a strict and thus fair asylum policy,' Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said in a statement sent to AFP. The ministry said it was the first deportation of a Syrian directly to Syria in about 15 years, and Austria was the 'first European country to officially deport a Syrian criminal directly to Syria in recent years'. Karner travelled to Syria with his German counterpart Nancy Faeser in April to discuss deportations, among other topics. Karner, from the governing conservative People's Party (OeVP), on Thursday vowed to 'continue this chosen path with hard work and determination'. Austria was among European Union nations that suspended all Syrian asylum applications after Assad's ouster. It also stopped family reunifications. Some 100,000 Syrians live in Austria, one of the biggest diaspora in Europe. Austria's anti-migration far right topped national elections in September though they were unable to find partners to govern, leaving the runner-up conservatives to form a new government. — AFP
Kuwait Times
16 hours ago
- Kuwait Times
Modi in Ghana to boost ties with Africa
ACCRA: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday outlined plans for deeper ties between his country and Africa, as New Delhi increasingly vies for a stronger economic presence on the continent along with China and Russia. In a speech to Ghana's parliament, Modi highlighted a major rail project that opened in the west African nation last year, financed by the India Export-Import Bank. He also underlined his country's expanding diplomatic development and business footprint in Africa. 'Over 200 projects across the continent enhance connectivity, infrastructure and Industrial capacity,' Modi said. On the political front he welcomed 'the establishment of Ghana-India Parliamentary Friendship Society in your parliament'. Modi's visit is the first to Ghana by an Indian leader in three decades. But India's rival China remains the most important backer of infrastructure across the continent, a position only strengthened as the United States and other Western powers slash aid programs. In a meeting Wednesday, Modi and Ghanaian President John Mahama agreed to deepen security and mining ties. In November 2024, the Indian prime minister visited Nigeria, discussing trade and security at a time when Indian companies had expressed interest in investing in Nigerian industries including steel. The Indian prime minister also on Thursday called for a greater global diplomatic role for both his country and Africa, warning that 'the world order created after the Second World War is changing fast'. Global South's voice Modi noted that the African Union had been admitted as a permanent member to the G20 while India held the rotating presidency of the bloc. Progress on worldwide challenges including climate change, diplomacy, 'terrorism' and pandemics 'cannot come without giving voice to the Global South', he added. India, the world's most populous country and a nuclear-armed power, has close ties with Russia but is often in rivalry with China. Resource-rich Ghana is Modi's first stop in a tour that will take the Indian premier to four other countries in Africa, the Caribbean and South America. The visit to Accra came as he made his way to Brazil for a summit of the BRICS group of emerging economies on Sunday and Monday. Highlighting his own country's economic development aspirations to become a 'developed nation by 2047,' Modi said 'India remains a committed partner in Africa's development journey.'— AFP
