Technical team meets in Khartoum to discuss filling Ethiopian Dam

June 23, 2018 (KHARTOUM) – A joint technical team from Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia on Saturday has launched discussions in Khartoum over options and strategies for filling the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) lake.

Egypt fears that its water share would be drawn down by the filling of the GERD which is expected to hold 74 billion cubic metres of water and generate electrical power of up to 6,000 megawatts.

In 2015, Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia signed a declaration of principles on the dam project that tacitly approves the dam construction but calls for technical studies aimed at safeguarding the water quotas of the three riparian states.

On September 22, 2014, a tripartite committee from the three countries proposed the conduction of two additional studies on the dam project, the first one on the effect of the dam on the water quota of Sudan and Egypt and the second one to examine the dam’s ecological, economic and social impacts of the dam on Sudan and Egypt.

The French engineering consultancy Artelia and BRL groups have been selected to undertake the dam impact studies. The U.K.-based law firm Corbett & Co was selected to manage the legal affairs of the tripartite committee.

Last month, the three countries agreed to set up a joint technical team – 5 members from each country- to study the filling of the GERD reservoir and operating the dam. Egypt withdrew its proposal to resort to the World Bank on the matter.

The technical team held its first meeting in Cairo from 2 to 4 June. During the meeting, Ethiopia submitted a proposal for consideration.

In a two-day meeting that convened in Khartoum on Saturday, the joint team will discuss Sudan and Egypt’s comments on the Ethiopian proposal.

(ST)