Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt begin studying Nile dam impact
By Tesfa-Alem Tekle
January 11, 2012 (ADDIS ABABA) – A joint tripartite technical committee set up by Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan has began assessing the possible impacts of the massive hydro-power dam project Ethiopia intends to build in the Blue Nile River.
The aim is also to further create better understanding between the countries and allow them to engage in continued cooperation serving their interests.
The three-party committee which embraces four international professionals and six experts drawn from the three countries has held its first meeting in Addis Ababa and will have its second gathering in Sudan.
Last year, Ethiopia launched the construction of a $4.8 billion dam project on the Blue Nile River near the Sudanese border raising angry protests from downstream countries of Sudan and Egypt that had historically had control over most of the Nile’s water resources under a colonial era treaty.
The Horn of Africa country is a source to over 80% of the Nile’s water and argues that it has right to execute development projects.
Ethiopian experts say the construction of the Ethiopian Grand Renaissance Dam
will not harm Egypt and Sudan who, they say, will benefit from the electricity it generates. The dam will also regulate the water flow, controls over flooding that risks their dams.
President Hosni Mubarek who led former Egyptian régime before he ousted in popular protests last year, had warned Ethiopia against building any dams on the Blue Nile raising diplomatic tensions. However since his down fall there is a new momentum in relationships and cooperation between Cairo and Addis Ababa.
In October last year the Nile Basin Discourse, a civil society network within the Nile Basin region, lauded the countries for opening a new chapter in relations to settle their long-standing dispute over the Nile’s water.
(ST)