Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD)

Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD)

• It was formerly known as the Millennium Dam and sometimes referred to as Hidase Dam.
• It is a gravity dam whose construction began in 2011 on the Blue Nile tributary in the northern Ethiopia highlands, from where 85% of the Nile’s waters flow.
• When complete, the Grand Renaissance Dam, which Ethiopia is building, will be Africa’s biggest hydroelectric power plant.

Why is it so contentious?

• At the center of the dispute are plans to fill up the mega-dam as Egypt fears the project will allow Ethiopia to control the flow of Africa’s longest river.
• Hydroelectric power stations do not consume water, but the speed with which Ethiopia fills up the dam’s reservoir will affect the flow downstream.

Why is Egypt so upset?

• Egypt relies on the Nile for 90% of its water. It has historically asserted that having a stable flow of the Nile waters is a matter of survival in a country where water is scarce.
• Egypt also fears that the dam could restrict its already scarce supply of the Nile waters, which is almost the only water source for its citizens.
• It could also affect transport on the Nile in Egypt if the water level is too low and affect the livelihood of farmers who depend on the water for irrigation.
• A 1929 treaty (and a subsequent one in 1959) gave Egypt and Sudan rights to nearly all of the Nile waters.
• The colonial-era document also gave Egypt veto powers over any projects by upstream countries that would affect its share of the waters.
• Under the 1959 Nile Waters Agreement, the two downstream riparian states Egypt and Sudan, respectively, were allocated 55.5 billion cubic meters and 18.5 billion cubic meters of Nile water annually.
• That settlement reduced Cairo’s control of the waters, compared to the virtual veto overutilization it was granted under the 1929 treaty.
• Egypt accuses Ethiopia of not factoring in the risk of drought conditions such as those that affected the Nile Basin in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
• Ethiopia was outside the purview of the 1959 treaty, as also other upstream states including Uganda, Kenya, and Rwanda.
• Ethiopia has said it should not be bound by the decades-old treaty and went ahead and started building its dam at the start of the Arab Spring in March 2011 without consulting Egypt.

Why does Ethiopia want such a big dam?

• The dam is at the heart of Ethiopia’s manufacturing and industrial dreams. When completed, it is expected to be able to generate a massive 6,000 megawatts of electricity.
• Ethiopia has an acute shortage of electricity, with 65% of its population not connected to the grid.
• The energy generated will be enough to have its citizens connected and sell the surplus power to neighboring countries.
• Ethiopia also sees the dam as a matter of national sovereignty.
• The dam project does not rely on external funding and relies on government bonds and private funds to pay for the project.
• The country has been critical of what it considers foreign interference in the matter.

Does anyone else benefit?

• Neighboring countries including Sudan, South Sudan, Kenya, Djibouti, and Eritrea are likely to benefit from the power generated by the dam.

Source: The Hindu