Ethiopia is open to resuming talks with Egypt and Sudan on the controversial Blue Nile dam that will be Africa’s largest hydroelectric power plant.
Sileshi Bekele, Ethiopia’s former negotiator on the dam and the country’s ambassador to the US, communicated the interest during a meeting with the new US special envoy to the Horn of Africa, Mike Hammer, AP reported.
A statement by Ethiopia’s foreign ministry on Friday cited the ambassador as highlighting “Ethiopia’s interest to resume the African Union-led trilateral negotiation over the GERD,” or Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.
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A satellite image shows the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile river in July, 2020. Maxar Technologies via AP -
The project - which began in 2011 - has become a flashpoint between Ethiopia and several of its neighbours. Maxar Technologies via Reuters -
For Ethiopia, the dam will make a huge difference to power generation, doubling annual output and connecting millions of Ethiopian families to the grid. AFP -
Egypt maintains that the dam on the Blue Nile, the River Nile's main tributary, will jeopardise its water supply. AFP -
The $4 billion is about 90 per cent completed. Maxar Technologies via Reuters -
An aerial view Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile River in Guba, northwest Ethiopia, on the 20th July. AFP
The multi-billion-dollar project is expected to bring electricity to millions of off-grid Ethiopians, but Sudan and Egypt fear it will reduce the amount of water they receive from the Nile River.
Several past rounds of negotiations among Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan have failed. Egypt fears a quick filling of the dam will reduce its share of Nile waters and seeks a binding legal agreement in case of a dispute.
In February, Ethiopia said it had begun producing power from one unit of the dam.
Earlier on Friday, foreign ministry spokesman Dina Mufti told reporters the third filling of the dam is on schedule this year.
“We have been saying since the start of the dam’s construction that tripartite talks will continue,” he said.
