Ethiopia officially inaugurated the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on Tuesday, after 14 years of construction, a massive dam on the Nile River that has been a source of tension for years with Egypt and Sudan.
During the inauguration ceremony, attended by regional leaders, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed described the dam as "a great achievement not only for Ethiopia, but for all Black people."
He said the dam is "proof that we... are capable of achieving whatever we set our minds to." Addressing neighboring countries, he said, "Ethiopia has completed the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam project for Black communities. This will not affect your development at all."
Ethiopia presents the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) as the largest hydroelectric power project in Africa.
The dam is a source of pride for Addis Ababa, and also a rare source of consensus in a country plagued by armed conflicts, some of which are still ongoing, particularly in the Oromia and Amhara regions, Ethiopia's second-largest regions by population. Others have ended, such as in the Tigray region, where the war ended in 2022 after claiming 600,000 lives, according to African Union estimates.
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) project was launched in April 2011 with a budget of $4 billion. It is approximately two kilometers wide and 170 meters high, with a capacity of 74 billion cubic meters of water, according to the Italian company Webuild, which built it.
Experts see the GERD as a promise of an "energy revolution" in Ethiopia, Africa's second-most populous country (130 million people), only 45 percent of whom have access to electricity.
- "Changing Lives" -
Pietro Salini, CEO of the Italian company Webuild, told AFP that the dam "will change the lives of 30 to 40 million people" in Ethiopia and provide them with access to electricity. He added that he was "proud" that the dam was "no longer a dream, but a reality."
Among those present at the inauguration ceremony was South Sudanese President Salva Kiir, who announced that the world's newest country would sign an electricity purchase agreement with Ethiopia.
Many of the 13 turbines have been in operation since 2022. In July, Addis Ababa announced the project's completion.
The dam's estimated capacity is 5,150 megawatts, double the country's current output.
However, this capacity is significantly lower than the world's two largest dams, the Three Gorges Dam (22.5 gigawatts) and the Baihetan Dam (16 gigawatts), both located in China.
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is among the tallest dams in Africa, after the 243-meter-high Gilgel Gibe III Dam on the Omo River in Ethiopia, which was inaugurated in 2016, and the 185-meter-high Katse Dam on the Malebamtso River in Lesotho.
Addis Ababa also said it would generate $1 billion annually in electricity revenues sold to its neighbors.
Celebrations for the dam's inauguration began Monday evening, featuring drones bearing slogans such as "Geopolitical Rise" and "Leap into the Future," as well as a massive fireworks display.
On social media, images of the dam adorned with the Ethiopian flag have spread.
"Existential Interests"
However, the project faces severe criticism from Egypt, which considers it an existential threat, as it could lead to a decline in its water resources.
Egypt, with a population of approximately 110 million, relies on the Nile to meet 97% of its water needs, particularly for agriculture.
According to the Egyptian Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, Egypt's water resources are estimated at approximately 56.6 billion cubic meters annually, while its water needs are approximately 114 billion cubic meters.
On Tuesday, Egypt protested the inauguration of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), denouncing in a letter to the Security Council a "unilateral action" that violates international law.
It affirmed that it "will not allow Ethiopian efforts to unilaterally dominate the management of water resources and reserves the right to take all measures guaranteed by international law and the UN Charter to defend the existential interests of its people."
Egyptian authorities have recently reached out to Ethiopia's two neighboring countries: Eritrea, whose relations with Addis Ababa have recently been strained, and Somalia.
Sudan has also expressed concern about the operation of the GERD and, in a joint statement with Egypt in late June, emphasized "the rejection of unilateral measures in the Blue Nile Basin."
All mediation attempts between the three countries—Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan—by the United States, the World Bank, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, and the African Union have failed.
Ethiopia has repeatedly sought to reassure its neighbors. In July, Abiy Ahmed addressed "our downstream neighbors, Egypt and Sudan," saying that "the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is not a threat, but a shared opportunity," noting that "the energy and development it will generate will not benefit Ethiopia alone."
He emphasized that "the Aswan Dam in Egypt has not lost a single liter of water due to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam."
He reiterated this rhetoric recently, saying that "the dams (Egyptian and Sudanese) are supposed to be full. We do not want (the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam) to create any concerns" for either country.
Pietro Salini stated that the dams "use water to produce energy. Therefore, they are not irrigation systems that consume water," stressing that there will be "no impact on the flow of water."
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