Ministers from Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan have agreed upon an initial deal on the filling and operation of Africa’s biggest hydro-electric Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), reported Reuters. The dam is around 70% complete and is expected to generate a massive 6,000 MW of electricity for Ethiopia’s 105 million people.
After a meeting in Washington DC, the three nations agreed that the dam on the River Nile will be filled in stages during the rainy season, taking into account the impact on downstream reservoirs.
Ethiopia, which is building the dam, wants to start generating electricity as soon as possible, but Egypt is concerned about its water supplies if it is filled too fast. Cairo is arid with almost no rainfall and relies on the Nile for 90% of its water requirement.
According to a joint statement released by the U.S. Treasury Department, which hosted the meeting, the three countries and the World Bank, the initial filling of the dam will aim for a level of 595 meters above sea level and early electricity generation, while providing appropriate mitigation measures for Egypt and Sudan during severe droughts. The filing of the dam is expected to begin in July.
Ethiopia wants the dam to be filled within six years, but Egypt says that a longer period of between 10 and 21 years would be better so that the water flow is not drastically reduced. No time period is specified in the preliminary agreement.
The ministers from Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan will next hold technical and legal talks ahead of their Washington meet, where they are most likely to finalize the agreement. Foreign and water ministers from the three countries will meet in the US capital on Jan. 28-29.
Notably, previous rounds of negotiations, of which there have been many, had failed to reach a conclusion.
