Ethiopia Losing 800 Million USD/Year Due to GERD Delay

GERD (Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam) to be completed in four years following a statement that comes out In a press conference that was held today about the dam progress. During the briefing session, the water and irrigation minister stated that the construction of the dam started without any adequate preliminary studies. As a result, the project faced a series of delays.

The country is already losing 800 million USD annually as a result of the delays in the project. The current status of the dam for civil works is 82% completed while the electromechanical progress is at 25%. The civil works were carried out by an Italian construction company called Salini while the electromechanical project was handed to METEC. Currently, the dam stands at 65% and it is expected four more years to be completed. Already the country has spent 92 Billion Birr for the project.

Just few months back the project manager of the dam Engineer Simegnew committed a suicide following two days after PM comment about the progress of the dam. The PM stated the project as a politicized project that was awarded to companies like METEC who have never seen such dam in their entire life let alone building it.