Renaissance Dam: the end of the filling of the largest reservoir in Africa
The complete filling of the Grand Renaissance Dam was completed a few days ago as Addis Ababa resumed dialogue with its Egyptian and Sudanese neighbors on this controversial megaproject.
Abiy Ahmed Ali, the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, recently announced “the successful completion of the fourth and final” filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (Gerd). This is an important step for this mega hydroelectric project launched in 2011. “The Ethiopians helped us by working together. Congratulations to all those who participated in the work with their money, their knowledge, their energy and their prayers,” said the Ethiopian Prime Minister.
Egypt's reaction did not take long since Cairo condemned this new stage of the project, indicating through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs that it was " Ethiopia's continued violation of the Declaration of Principles signed between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan in 2015. The Declaration of Principles stipulates the need for the three countries to reach an agreement on the rules for filling and operating the Gerd before starting the process filling".
The end of the filling comes as Ethiopia and Egypt agreed to resume talks over the Gerd. “This approach, as well as its negative consequences, calls into question the ongoing negotiation process, which must be completed within four months. The next round of negotiations, planned in Addis Ababa, should allow tangible and real progress towards an agreement on the rules for filling and operating the Gerd,” indicates the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs .
Egypt, which has always reaffirmed its opposition to this megaproject, depends 85% on the Nile for its water supply. The Gerd is built on the Blue Nile (the main tributary of the Nile), in the Benishangul-Gumuz regional state. The dam, which is 170 m high and 1.8 km wide, has a reservoir capable of containing 79 billion m 3 of water. The dam has already started producing electricity with a first 375 MW Francis turbine inaugurated in February 2022.
