Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) will soon start generating test power.
Last November, Dr. Sileshi Bekele, Adviser to the Prime Minister’s Office on the dam and cross-border issues, announced that the dam would generate power in a few weeks. The dam will generate 700 megawatts of electricity for the first time.
“The dam will initially cover 20 pc of the national demand. Ethiopia completed the second flooding of the dam last summer.” mentioned officials at Water and Power Ministry.
According to Dr. Sileshi, the dam’s construction is 82 pc complete. After the completion, the dam is expected to generate 5,250 megawatts of electricity. The Renaissance Dam is said to be the largest hydroelectric dam in Africa. The dam’s construction had many pressures coming from Sudan and Egypt.
Egypt, in particular, expressed concern that the dam would reduce the flow of water into its territory, stressing that the project would not affect other riparian countries. The three countries have repeatedly negotiated a solution to the dispute, but no agreement has been reached. 86 pc of the Nile’s water comes from Ethiopia.
Ethiopia has not yet utilized the river as much as it does. Statistics show that 60 pc of Ethiopians do not have electricity access. The Renaissance Dam project will mobilized the community to gain electricity.
