The completion of the controversial project was disclosed by Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Thursday, noting that the dam would be inaugurated in September.
Speaking in parliament, the Ethiopian prime minister stated that the project was ” now complete, and we are preparing for its official inauguration”.
As seen on France 24, he also added, “To our neighbours downstream — Egypt and Sudan — our message is clear: the Renaissance Dam is not a threat, but a shared opportunity.
The energy and development it will generate stand to uplift not just Ethiopia.”
During the week, the 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 Sisi’s spokesman, the two are dedicated to “safeguarding water security” in the region.
At full capacity, the massive dam, which stretches 1.8 kilometres (just over one mile) wide and 145 metres (475 feet) high, can contain up to 74 billion cubic metres of water and produce more than 5,000 megawatts of power, more than doubling Ethiopia’s present output.
Ethiopia and Egypt’s conflict over the GERD
The $4-billion project, which is considered to be the continent’s largest hydroelectric project, was proposed as far back as 2011.
Since then, the project has been a source of concern for Egypt, which claims that the presence of the dam would affect the country’s water supply from the Nile River.
In July 2023, a joint statement issued by the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed revealed that the parties involved, including Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan, decided to initiate urgent conversations on the filling of the dam and the regulations governing its operation.
By December of the same year, Egypt revealed its intentions to closely monitor the procedures for filling and operating the dam, given that the discussions on the dam had not been successful.
Egypt, which relies on the Nile for 97% of its water supply, has long viewed the building as an existential threat.
Nonetheless, the dam is critical to Ethiopia’s economic goals, and Addis Ababa announced in February 2022 that the country will begin producing hydroelectric electricity for the first time.
