Ethiopia inaugurates the Grand Renaissance Dam

Ethiopia has officially inaugurated the famous Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), considered the largest hydroelectric project in Africa.

The impressive infrastructure has cost a significant £5 billion, most of which was financed by the Ethiopian state through the sale of government bonds and contributions from citizens, and will be a major source of electricity supply through hydroelectric generation for Ethiopia, using the water resources of the Nile River, which has generated political and diplomatic tensions with neighbouring Egypt and Sudan, who denounced the appropriation of water resources that directly affect their respective territories.

This large infrastructure can generate 5,150 megawatts (equivalent to six nuclear power plants), exceeding the capacity of 750 megawatts generated by two turbines that were in operation. It can store up to 74 billion cubic metres of water in the artificial Lake Nigat.

The dam is 145 metres high and has a maximum surface area of 1,874 square kilometres. It is located in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, in the west, about 15 kilometres from the border with Sudan, on the Blue Nile. The Nile River, whose basin covers eleven countries, has two main tributaries: the White Nile, which originates in the Great Lakes region; and the Blue Nile, which begins at Lake Tana in Ethiopia and contributes 85% of the river's water. Control of the Nile River is very important, and the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam affects the situation of the Nile River's resources, which affect more than a dozen countries.

The inauguration of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam was attended by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who led the official ceremony in the presence of Ismail Omar Guelleh, President of Djibouti, Salva Kiir Mayardit, President of South Sudan, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, President of Somalia, William Samoa Ruto, President of Kenya, Mia Amor Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados, and Russell Dlamini, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Eswatini, according to the official Ethiopian news agency.

Despite political disputes between Ethiopia and Egypt and Sudan, Abiy Ahmed said the project represents a ‘joint energy and development opportunity’ for the region, stressing that it will not affect Egypt and Sudan, countries that lie along the course of the Nile River.

This infrastructure, whose construction began in 2011 on the Blue Nile, will provide a major energy and economic boost, with significant revenues for Ethiopia.

Abiy Ahmed has described the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam as ‘proof of Ethiopia's strength when it is united’ and has called it a ‘historic achievement’ even at the regional level, not just for the Ethiopian nation, as reported by the official ENA news agency.

No senior officials from Egypt or Sudan attended the opening ceremony, demonstrating the political confrontation that exists. There were several rounds of negotiations over the years between the three nations involved, but no agreement was reached between Ethiopia and the other countries affected by the initiative.

Cairo and Khartoum are seeking an official agreement with Addis Ababa on the filling and operation of the hydroelectric dam in order to have control and guarantees over the water flow relating to their respective quotas for the flow of the Nile, an African river of vital importance to the region.

However, various reports have suggested that there was also strong unease in Egypt because there may have been a prior agreement between Ethiopia and Sudan that would have a significant impact on Egypt in terms of its share of the Nile's resources.

Egypt insists on reaching a comprehensive agreement between the parties involved for the operation of the hydroelectric dam, although Ethiopia continues to insist that the operation of the facilities does not affect Egypt and Sudan as countries located along the course of the Nile River.