Ethiopia’s Plan to Build New Dams Raises Tension with Cairo

A statement by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Addis Ababa’s decide to build many dams across the country has exacerbated tensions with Egypt.

Cairo denounced the announcement, stressing that it “reveals Addis Ababa’s bad faith.”

Ethiopia thinks the Nile and other rivers it shares with neighboring countries are subject to its sovereignty alone, the Foreign Ministry noted.

It said all water projects should be established after coordination and agreement with the possibly affected countries.

Earlier in the week , Ahmed said Addis Ababa plans to create quite 100 small and medium dams in various areas across the country within the upcoming financial year.

An Egyptian-Ethiopian dispute was sparked in 2011 when Addis Ababa began constructing the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Blue Nile.

Egypt and Sudan stress the necessity to succeed in a binding and comprehensive agreement on the dam’s filling and operation to ensure the rights and interests of the three countries.

They also say the deal should include a mechanism for settling disputes on the filling and operation of the dam.

They fear the potential negative impact of GERD on the flow of their annual share of the Nile’s 55.5 billion cubic meters of water.

The African Union (AU) has been sponsoring the thus far faltered talks between Cairo, Addis Ababa and Khartoum since July 2020, despite the intervention of international actors like the us and therefore the European Union with observers.

Egypt and 10 other downstream countries share the Nile basin, yet quite 85 percent of its share comes from the Blue Nile tributary in Ethiopia.

Cairo has repeatedly stressed its consent for Basin countries to profit from the Nile by implementing projects and achieving development for his or her peoples.

However, it underscores the importance of coordination and consultation among countries which may be suffering from the water facilities and projects.

Ethiopia announced it still had plans to maneuver forward with the second phase of filling the mega-dam when the season begins in July.