The incredible £3.7bn Africa’s biggest dam – 1 mile wide and 475ft high | World | News
Ethiopia is now home to the largest hydroenetic dam in Africa. The official opening ceremony of the Great Ethiopia Renaissance Dam (GERD) took place on September 9, and it was described as a great success, not just for Ethiopia, but for all Africans.
Built between 2011-2023, the dam of the 3.7 billion dam is located on a branch of the Nile River and will provide millions of resident energy in Ethiopia, the second most populous country in Africa. According to local media, the dam, which has a 5,150 megawatt installation capacity, was financed without any foreign assistance. While Ethiopia’s central bank provides 91% of the finance, the rest was provided by Ethiopians through bond sales and gifts.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said the dam will be used to increase the access of citizens to electricity and to export excess power to the region.
However, the project caused tension with another great nation in Africa.
Egypt built its own Aswan High Dam in the Nile in the 1960s, Reports report that France 24 can restrict the water resource during the drought periods of GERD and lead to the construction of other up flow dams..
The country, which hosts about 108 million people, trusts the Nile for 90% of its fresh water.
On Monday (September 8th), Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Tamim Khallaf said Reuters would continue to take care of Egypt’s Blue Nile, and said, “He would continue to exercise all appropriate measures to defend and protect the interests of the Egyptian people.
Egypt is contrary to Gerd’s plans, arguing that it pose a threat and violated water treaties from the British colonial period.
Sudan currently supports the calls for legally binding agreements on the filling and operation of Egypt’s dam, where it can benefit from better flood management and access to cheap energy.
President Donald Trump also supported Cairo’s positioning in his first period. He said that this is a dangerous situation and Cairo said that he could “blow up the dam,” but his management could not make an agreement on the project.
Despite the reaction, Ethiopia continued the project and followed that it was a sovereign right. In 2020, the country began to fill the reservoir in stages while arguing that the dam would not harm down the flow countries.
In July, Abiy said to the parliament: “The Renaissance dam is not a threat, a common opportunity. Not only Ethiopia, but the energy and development that will rise.”
Independent studies have shown that the lower flow flows are not largely affected by partially positive rainfall and careful, seasonally filled in the last five years.
According to the Ethiopian government, the dam reduces the risk of floods and droughts, while leaving a larger area under the Great London, which will provide a regular water supply for hydroelectric and irrigation.
However, the inhabitants in rural areas will have to wait to benefit from the extra power because only half of the country’s national network is connected.
