Representatives of the D.C. Renaissance Council presented the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister a plaque with the Bond Purchase of a little over $1, 500,000.00 for Africa’s first 6000 MW Power House

Addis Ababa, April 5 – Ethiopian Development Bank announced the procurement of the government bond for the Grand Renaissance Dam is going on as per the plan.

The Bank said it is working with relevant government offices to satisfy the need for the bond in the countryside and in pastoral areas. Public contribution for the construction of the Dam is estimated to cover 20 per cent of the finance needed for the grand project.

As for Vice President of the Bank, Genene Ruga, the Bank is offering the bond in branches of financial institutions all across the country. The Bank has to do more to meet needs of the public in the countryside and in pastoral areas, where demands appear to be unmet.

Purchase of bonds to cover public investments on big projects is a means of fund raising while it, at the same time, feeds to saving culture of the nation.

The government bonds, that provided bonds of 500 birr and more, now offer bonds beginning from 50 birr to 1 million birr price tag.

(ERTA)

Signed Nile Basin Cooperative Framework Agreement

Addis Ababa, March 7 (WIC) – Ethiopia begins a process to ratify the Nile Basin Cooperative Framework Agreement (CFA) into legislation by the House of Peoples Representatives.

The CFA, which is signed in May 2011 by six of the Nile Basin counties including Ethiopia, seeks to establish a permanent River Nile Basin Commission through which member countries of the basin will jointly manage and develop resources of the Nile, the longest river in the world.

“We have now started a process to have the CFA ratified into a legislation,” Reta Alemu, Director of International Legal Affairs Directorate General at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), said Tuesday at a consultative meeting organized by the Ministry of Water and Energy (MoFA) and the Ethiopian Nile Discourse Forum (EthNDF).

Ethiopia put a hold on the ratification process to allow Egypt, which is yet to sign the CFA, regain political stability following months of unrests that led to the formation of a new government.

“The six countries that signed the CFA have agreed to proceed with a process to ratify the treaty into legislation,” Reta said.

The upstream countries that have so far signed include Ethiopia, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. All six parliaments are expected to ratify the CFA.

The Democratic Republic of Congo has not signed yet while the world’s newest country, South Sudan, could accede to the treaty.

Egypt and Sudan have persistently refused to sign the agreement which, if signed and ratified by governments, could end their hegemonic control over the waters.

Egypt wants to maintain its ‘historic rights’ that emanated from a 1929 colonial-era treaty signed with Britain. The treaty gave Egypt veto rights over all upstream projects. A subsequent 1959 treaty between Egypt and Sudan also gave the two downstream countries over ninety percent control of Nile waters.

The Executive Secretary of IGAD, H.E Eng. Mahboub Maalim presented a $100,000 check to the Ethiopian Ambassador to Djibouti H.E. Ato Suleiman Dedefo at a ceremony held at Djibouti’s Hotel Kempinsky.

IGAD Djibouti — The Executive Secretary of IGAD, H.E Eng. Mahboub Maalim presented a $100,000 check to the Ethiopian Ambassador to Djibouti H.E. Ato Suleiman Dedefo at a ceremony held at Djibouti’s Hotel Kempinsky. The Staff of IGAD contributed the funds in support of The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

The Renaissance Dam is a significant step towards regional integration and development. Executive Secretary of IGAD said, “the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam can be termed as the flagship of a new age not only for Ethiopia, but also for our region.”

As a bottom up project, the Renaissance Dam is funded from within the region. “It was declared to be done only by national capacity with close cooperation of the peoples of IGAD region,” said Ambassador Suleiman Dedefo. This reduces dependency on countries outside of the region because Ethiopia will not have to incur massive debt outside of the region to finance the project. Ethiopia hopes to develop regional manufacturing capability through these regional projects.

Speakers emphasized that integration among IGAD Member States is key for prosperity in the region.

Looking forward, Executive Secretary said, “there are more celebrations to come in the future when IGAD member states will be linked and interconnected in countless ways to create an integrated and mighty region and unite peoples.”

The Executive Secretary of IGAD paid tribute to the late Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Ato Males Zenawi for his vision and leadership of the region.

The Ethiopian Ambassador, Ato Soleiman Dadefo praised the initiative of the IGAD staff “IGAD’s contribution is so important not only as a substantial amount but also as a gesture that heralds that we can independently address our needs and necessities”

Source: IGAD

The Horn of Africa country has laid out plans to invest more than $12 billion in harnassing the rivers that run through its rugged highlands to generate more than 40,000 MW of hydropower by 2035, making it Africa’s leading power exporter.

* Mega dam along Nile River to generate 6,000 MW

* Plans to spend over $12 bln and produce 40,000 MW by 2035\

* Hopes to become Africa’s biggest power exporter

By Aaron Maasho

ADDIS ABABA, Nov 12 (Reuters) – Ethiopia’s energy minister played down concerns on Monday about how it would finance the first of an array of mega-dams due to revolutionise east African power markets, saying it was on track to have three plants on line by 2015.

The Horn of Africa country has laid out plans to invest more than $12 billion in harnassing the rivers that run through its rugged highlands to generate more than 40,000 MW of hydropower by 2035, making it Africa’s leading power exporter.

Energy chief Alemayehu Tegenu said the plan’s centerpiece – the $4.1 billion-Grand Renaissance Dam along the Nile River in the western Benishangul-Gumuz region – was on course to be completed on time in 2015.

Two other smaller dams should also come on line by that point, he said, generating a total of more than 8,000 megawatts of power at full capacity.

“Everything is going according to plan. It (the Grand Renaissance) is on good status,” Tegenu told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of an energy conference in Addis Ababa.

“So far we have achieved 13 percent of the total construction.”

The dam – Africa’s largest – will generate 6,000 MW at full capacity.

It is just the latest of a series of ambitious infrastructure projects launched by Ethiopia following years of solid economic growth. The government says funding will come from both domestic and foreign sources.

Worried about the state’s ability to raise the billions needed, however, some experts have called on Addis Ababa to sell off state firms and assets they say could rake in a potential $9.6 billion.

Alemayehu said the country has raised more than 5 billion birr ($277.1 million) for the construction of its Grand Renaissance Dam to date, the vast majority of it from sales of government bonds.

“This dam may not be constructed only by selling bonds, but the (power) utility can finance some part of the financing,” he said.

“The option we have designed is financing by the people of Ethiopia, the utility and the government.”

The other major near-term project the government hopes to complete is the Gilgel Gibe III dam along its southern Omo river, set to generate 1,870 MW from the end of 2013 at a cost of $1.8 billion.

Alemayehu said over 65 percent of construction on that dam had been completed.

Another 254 MW project is being built in the Oromiya region and is due to be ready in two years. Together the three projects will churn out 8,124 MW, compared to Ethiopia’s existing capacity of around 2,167 MW of hydro and wind power.

EXPORT TO NEIGHBOURS

Egypt fears that the Nile dams will reduce the flow of the river’s waters further downstream and Addis Ababa has long complained that Cairo was pressuring donor countries and international lenders to withhold funding.

An international panel of experts is set to announce its findings on the impact of Ethiopia’s Grand Renaissance Dam on the Nile’s flow in May 2013.

Analysts suspect that any shortfall in funding of such projects could draw further Chinese capital to Africa, where Beijing has begun to accumulate natural resources and volumes of trade.

Critics have already slammed China’s willingness to lend money for Gilgel Gibe III’s turbines over concerns the dam would create serious environmental damage.

Addis Ababa is already providing more than 50 MW to Djibouti, while Kenya’s border town of Moyale is importing a small amount.

“We have started exports to Sudan, as well as the border town of Moyale. We will gradually expand to Sololo (in eastern Kenya) and plans for Somaliland are also going well,” Alemayehu said.

Newly-independent South Sudan has also signed a memorandum of understanding to construct a transmission interconnector to import power, he added.

Another project – a 3,000 km 500 kV line linking Ethiopia with Sudan and Egypt, is also in the pipeline, while the construction of a 1,300 km 500 kV transmission interconnector with Kenya will start soon.

“We have secured the finances (for the project linking with Kenya) and the design has been complete. For construction the tender has also been floated,” Alemayehu told Reuters.

“The project is expected to start in less than two months.” (Editing by Yara Bayoumy and Patrick Graham)

Source: Reuters

Sudanese President Omar Hasan Al-Bashir and Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.

Sudanese might be troubled with political unrest in a wave of antigovernment protests, but they spared enough time to discuss the fate of their greatest natural resource, which is considered their lifeline; the Nile.

Sudanese government officials, experts, consultants, and an outspoken opposition leader gathered in Khartoum a week before university students began a protest objecting to government austerity measures, on June 16, 2012. The gathering, organised by the Sudanese Engineering Association, witnessed an official turnaround of the Sudanese stand on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

The Association selected a theme for its symposium that intertwined the Dam’s construction with the future development of Sudan. The symposium revealed an unexpected positive attitude towards the construction of the dam and raised Sudan’s expected gains from the project.

The Renaissance Dam, which is under construction on the Abay (Blue Nile)River in Benishangul Gumuz Regional State, 45km east of Sudan, will be the largest hydroelectric power project in Ethiopia. The Dam will have a 63 billion-cubic metre reservoir when it is finalised in 2017. Along with its power generating capacity, this makes the project one of Africa’s largest.

Before officially launching the Dam’s construction in April 2011, Ethiopia, the source of 85pc of the Nile’s waters, was unable to utilise its naturally endowed resource for electricity generation. One of the reasons was the concern raised by Egypt and Sudan, countries that hugely depend on the Nile.

Egypt and Sudan are the only two countries that have refused to sign the Nile Basin Cooperative Framework Agreement. The Agreement proposes an equitable usage of the River Nile by all nine riparian states. When Ethiopia announced its plan to construct the Renaissance Dam and gave the contract to Salini Costruttori for 4.8 billion dollars, Egypt, a country that relies on the Nile River for 90pc of its water, openly protested.

Despite facing political turmoil in their country, Egyptian officials fiercely argued that they would not accept an Ethiopian solution that jeopardised either Sudan or Egypt. However, Sudan preferred to hold her discontent to herself.

Some Sudanese newspapers wrote stories about the country’s reservations on the Ethiopian Dam project. There was hesitation on the part of Sudan to realise the benefits of the Dam, Dina Mufti, speaker of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), confirmed to Fortune.

Sudanese officials, however, went as far as to deny press reports and insisted that the construction of the Dam would not affect the development of the country, if it is conducted in cooperation and harmony with the three countries.

To the delight of the Sudanese, Ethiopia agreed to the formation of a technical team, drawn from representatives of the three countries and embracing international water experts, to evaluate the potential impact of the Dam. The first meeting of the panel of international experts was held in May 2012, and a follow-up meeting was conducted in Khartoum in the beginning of July.

Such developments seemed to ease the tension created after the launch of the GERD. The Sudan-based symposium was also conducted with this essence. The discussion mainly emphasised the benefits of the Dam for Sudan. Reduction of alluvium, provision of water at a fixed and stable rate, reduction of soil erosion, and supply of electricity at a cheaper rate were among the advantages raised during the symposium.

“Sudan can make maximum use of this Dam, which will reduce clay [build-up], whose removal costs millions of dollars,” Saifuddine Hamad Abdallah (Prof), minister of Irrigation & Water Resources of Sudan was quoted as saying in the country’s independent daily, Sudan Vision. “The Dam will provide water at fixed levels that will help irrigated agriculture, especially on the wake of shortages of rain across the regions of the country.”

Like Egypt, Sudanese officials previously feared that Ethiopia’s mega Dam project would affect the water levels in the River. Egyptians argued that they were entitled to receive 55 billion cubic metres of Nile water, while Sudan was entitled to 18.5 billion cubic metres based on the 1959 agreement between the two.

Mohamed Akod Osman (Prof), dean of the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Khartoum, believes that the construction of the Dam will bring a “stable rate” of water to the Nile throughout the year. Like other participants at the symposium, Mohamed stressed that the Dam would minimise the sedimentation problem the country faced.

“The Dam will reduce alluvium for Sudan by 100 million cubic metres,” he mentioned in his paper presented at the symposium.

Experts, who have studied the Nile Basin, state that sedimentation is one of the main pressing problems in water resource management in the Nile Basin. The Ethiopian highlands are considered the main source of sediment, pouring a huge amount of eroded soil into the Nile. The sediment from Ethiopia has negative impacts on downstream countries of the Nile, according to a study, entitled Sediment in the Nile River System.

A 2008 UNESCO’s study, conducted by Abdalla Abdelsalam Ahmed (PhD), revealed that the sediment deposition seriously reduced reservoir storage capacities leading to hydropower generation problems. When the bed of the River fills with sediment, it raises its course and later causes flooding, the study stated.

Agreeing with the GERD’s contribution to reducing sediment, the minister raised another benefit of the Dam. Confident enough of the Ethiopian government’s plan to sell electricity to its neighbours and other East African countries, he even went on to calculate the power production cost. He claimed that Ethiopia would sell power for 50 dollar cents for a kilowatt-hour, which is far less than the production cost in Sudan.

The production cost is, indeed, much cheaper when compared to the world average. To generate a megawatt of power in Ethiopia, it only costs 1.5 million dollars, while the world average demands 2.5 million dollars per megawatt, according to research conducted by Access Capital.

Ethiopia plans to export electricity to Sudan even before the completion of the GERD. The state-owned utility monopoly, the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo), planned to start the sale of 100MW of electric power to Sudan in May 2012. However, it was delayed. The EEPCo started its trial work mid June, according to sources.

Mainly relying on the GERD’s 6,000MW generating capacity, EEPCo has a plan to eventually increase its export to Sudan to 1,200MW within eight years. Osman Al-Tom Hamad (PhD), advisor to the Ministry of Water Resources of Sudan, has seen such export plans as compensation for the Dam’s potential consequences on electricity production at his country’s dams during summertime. The low water flow during the dry season, coupled with the intake of the Dam seems to make him fearful of the outcome.

Overall, Ethiopian officials and experts welcomed the positive outlook towards the GERD from the Sudanese side. The fact that the Sudanese consulted and decided in this manner on their initiative was taken as a “big step,” as they have a history of taking sides with the Egyptians on Nile-related issues.

Making repetitive efforts to assure both Sudan and Egypt of the benefits of the Dam since its official launch, the Ethiopian official seemed happy that such a consensus was reached at the Symposium. If it proves to be the official government stance on the issue, the Sudanese consensus at the Symposium indicates the righteousness of the project, according to Bereket Simon, secretary of the Public Participation National Council for the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

For Bereket, such agreement among the Sudanese, which even includes the opposition camp, is a “victory” for Ethiopia. To his pleasure, Sadiq al-Mahdi, an outspoken opposition leader and known opponent of President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, said that an agreement between the riparian states is a must.

“Lack of agreement among the Nile Basin member states will lead to a grave political crisis,” al-Mahdi, the two-time Prime Minster of Sudan and leader of the opposition National Umma Party, said.

“The Nile Basin member states must reach an agreement in a way that makes all of the states feel [like they are being treated] fair [regarding the] distribution of quotas.”

Ruling out a military solution to the issue, al-Mahdi instead proposed a compromise, by accepting the opinions of the countries in the Basin on the controversial 1959 and other colonial agreements. He believes that the solution rests with the recognition of the needs of the Basin states.

The symposium illustrates that Sudan is considering the issue based on evidence rather than political propaganda, according to Yacob Arsano (PhD), associate professor of political science and international relations and expert on hydro politics.

There is hope on the Ethiopian side that the Egyptians will also follow suit in considering the project with an open mind and an understanding that its intended purpose of power generation and not irrigation does not have a negative effect on downstream countries.

“Sooner or later, the Egyptians will come to agreement as well,” Yacob conferred.

For Bereket, the change that might come depends on the willingness of the new administration in power in Egypt. Seemingly cautious about making speculations, he remains interested to see what will happen in the future.

To get an indication of the motives of the new administration in Egypt, one should not have to wait too long. The discussion of the ministers of Nile Basin countries, which opened in the Rwandan capital, Kigali, on July 5, is expected to give a glimpse into the future course of action on the cooperation of the riparian states.

Source: addisfortune.com

The International Panel of Experts which commenced its activity officially on Tuesday, 15 May 2012, consists of 10-members. Six of the experts are from Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan while the rest four are international experts.

The International Panel of Experts for environmental impact assessment of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam Project has paid a visit to the construction site.

The experts have noted that the visit would make their forthcoming activity easier. The experts held a closed door session on Thursday at Sheraton Addis.

Egyptian Ambassador to Ethiopia, Mohammed Idris said the experts would carry out activities fulfilling the needs of the three countries based on the realities on the ground.

Sudanese Ambassador to Ethiopia, Abdulrahman Seer el Karim for his part said he was able to realize that the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam Project was progressing well.

Chief Executive Officer of the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation, Mihret Debebe also said the project is being executed in a way that would minimize tensions among neighboring countries.

“The International Panel of Experts would realize from the study, design and current status of the project that there is nothing hidden from the riparian countries,” Mihret said.

“They would realize that the reality far from the rumors that were disseminated about the project; this would have quite a significant role in building mutual trust among the countries.”

The International Panel of Experts which commenced its activity officially on Tuesday, 15 May 2012, consists of 10-members. Six of the experts are from Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan while the rest four are international experts.

Djibouti follows Somaliland as the second buyer outside Ethiopia.

The government of Djibouti has earned the place as the largest foregin buyer of bonds, which Ethiopia is issuing to finance its most grand hydroelectric dam, on the River Abay (Blue Nile), with a one million-dollar cheque, the largest amount issued to date by a foreign entity.

Aboubaker Omar Hadi, chairman of the Djibouti Ports & Free Zones Authority (DPFZA) handed over the cheque on Thursday, April 12, 2012, to Sulieman Dedefo, Ethiopia’s ambassador to Djibouti, in the presence of 200 guests gathered inside Hotel Kempinski, Djibouti’s most luxurious Hotel on shores of the Gulf of Tadjoura.

Half paid in acquiring bond certificates that the Ethiopian government has issued to finance the construction of the 4.8 billion-dollar Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), and the remaining half handed out as a grant, Djibouti follows Somaliland, a breakaway state from Somalia still craving international recognition, in buying bonds worth half a million dollars.

“This represents our modest contribution to the grand project,” Aboubaker said at the event.

It is an amount far larger than a “modest” size, if compared to the 350,000 dollars the Ethiopian Embassy in Djibouti has so far raised from members of the Ethiopian community there.

Sulieman attributed the Djiboutian authorities’ decision to contribute to the construction of the Dam to the promotional activities Ethiopia’s diplomats are undertaking in the Horn of African nation.

“This is not only for the development of Ethiopia,” the ambassador told Fortune in an interview on the phone last week. “It also benefits the other countries of the region.”

Aboubaker concurs with this view. Djibouti is in need of sustainable, clean, and cheaper power sources to “satisfy its colossal need for energy”, according to the Chairman.

Djibouti was already the first country in the region to buy electric power from Ethiopia, with 35MW of electric power supplied beginning May 2011, for a 1.5 million-dollar a month utility bill.

“This (the GERD) comes as a great joy for us, as we are in the process of developing massively the infrastructure in ports and port-related activities in the next five years,” said Aboubaker. “The operations of such infrastructure will surely require a reliable and cost-effective energy.”

Doraleh Container Terminal, Horizon Oil Terminal, and Djibouti Free Zone, all owned by the state of Djibouti in partnership with DP World, will soon follow in buying bonds, Aboubaker promised.

Sulieman hopes to expand this in promoting the benefits of buying bonds among members of the business community in Djibouti.

source: addisfortune

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir (L) welcomes Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi at the airport in Khartoum, Sudan, Aug. 21, 2011.(Xinhua/Mohammed Babiker)

Addis Ababa, March 6, 2012 (Addis Ababa) – Sudanese President Omar Hassan Ahmad Al-Bashir said his country will provide the necessary support towards success of construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam as the Dam significantly contributes for the benefits of Sudan.

According to a statement the Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent to ENA on Tuesday, the president made the statement while receiving credential of the newly appointed Ethiopian Ambassador to Sudan, Abadi Zemo.

He said Sudan will further strengthen ongoing support to construction of the Dam and ensure common benefits of the two countries.

The President also said overall cooperation between Ethiopia and Sudan is getting strengthened more than ever.

Ambassador Abadi on his part said Ethiopia and Sudan have cultural, historical and people-to-people ties.

The Ambassador also said utmost efforts will be exerted to further strengthen such ties.

Ethiopia and Sudan had begun diplomatic relations in 1956.

The Mandaya and Beko Abo Dams are situated in the Blue Nile Sub-basin and among the top high dams in the world, respectively having a 200 mts and 285 mts height, an installed capacity of 2000 MW and 2100 MW and an annual energy output of 12,119 GWh/year and 12,600 GWh/year.

Senior ministers at the Ministry of Water & Energy (MoWE) are planning to carryout feasibility studies on three additional hydropower plants to be built in the basin of the Abay (Blue Nile) River, whose combined power generation capacity is projected to be larger than the Grand Renaissance Dam, Fortune learnt.

The cost of the feasibility studies on the technical, environmental, and social impacts of the dams will be covered with a 20.1 million-dollar grant secured from the government of Norway.

Asfaw Dingamo, former minister of Water Resources, had signed the grant agreement with Tom Odegaard, in November 2009.

Hydroelectric power plants planned in Mendaia, Beko Abo, and Kara Dodi, will collectively have 300MW more power than the Grand Renaissance Dam’s 5,200MW, a capacity the dam is believed to have when the Italian Salini Construttori completes construction in the second quarter of 2017. It will be the largest hydropower plant on the continent, with 15 generating units, each producing 350MW of electric power, a capacity currently generated by Koka and Tekeze dams combined.

The Grand Renaissance Dam also symbolises the nation’s determination to build the largest dam ever with its own resources, according to Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.

“The other dams we plan to build are less challenging than this,” he had said during his address at the launching of the project in Guba, Benishangul Gumuz Regional State, on April 2, 2011.

Indeed, he was referring to hydropower projects on the drawing board such as Beko Abo (2,100MW), located two kilometres upstream of Nekemt Bridge; Mendaia (2,000MW), located seven kilometres upstream on the Abay River and Dedessa River confluence; and Kara Dodi (1,600MW), located 70km upstream from the Renaissance Bridge.

However, the actual generation capacity of each dam will have to be determined after the feasibility studies are complete.

“Their capacities might increase or otherwise,” a hydraulic expert at the Ministry told Fortune.

Mendaia and Beko Abo projects are expected to be roller compacted concrete (RCC) dams, with 200 metre and 285 metre heights, making the latter the highest of its type in the world, each having an annual energy output of over 12,000 GWh a year.

The prefeasibility studies on Mendaia and Bako Abo projects were conducted by a consortium of consultants from Norway (Norplan and Norconsult), France (Electricite de France), and England (Scott Wilson), as well as Shebelle Consult Plc and Tropics Consulting Engineers, both domestic firms.

The report for the studies was approved by the Ministry after reviewing reports from the consultants, following consultation with the Ethiopian Electric Power Cooperation (EEPCo) and other relevant stake holders, sources disclosed.

The prefeasibility study includes hydrology studies, topography surveys, and geotechnical foundation and environmental studies. Aside from hydropower generation, the projects also aim to be multipurpose, providing improvements in flood control and conservation.

“The Ministry approved the projects, confirming their economic and technical viability, as eligible for a final feasibility study,” a senior official at the Ministry told Fortune.

Studies on economic and social viability were carried out by foreign consultant: Halcrow and Generation Integrated Rural Development (GIRD). It was during these studies that a helicopter crashed in the Abay Gorge, after it collided with a cable en route from Gojam to Wellega; no harm was reported.

The aforementioned consortium has been given the job of conducting the feasibility studies. They are allowed to take about six months to complete them, according to the senior official at the Ministry.

“If all of the studies are finalised within the year, as planned, construction will start within the coming few years,” he disclosed to Fortune.

The cost of building all three dams is yet to be determined. Nonetheless, it may reach close to 75 billion Br, considering the 13 million Br average cost per megawatt that the five most recent dams, including the Grand Renaissance Dam, have consumed in the past or are projected to.

“By the time we secure financing for their construction, these projects will be ready to be carried out within the five-year transformation period,” said the senior official at the Ministry.

The Ministry is also commissioning economic feasibility studies on the Tekeze River, for its second dam, 903km north of Addis Abeba, and on the Dedessa River, in Benishangul Gumuz, 386km from the capital. The two projects will have an estimated capacity of producing 450MW and 301MW, respectively.

The successful construction of these dams will increase the nation’s hydroelectric power plants to 17.

Currently, EEPCo generates 2,000MW of power, while an additional 8,000MW is expected in the coming three years; of which 97MW has already been added after Fincha Amertinesh Dam, consuming 137.8 million dollars, was inaugurated last month.

source: addis fortune

Alemayehu Tegenu (left) confirmed his country's commitment to transparency in order to guarantee the advantages of the dam not only for Ethiopia but also for Sudan and Egypt.

Addis Ababa, January 10 (WIC) – A tripartite committee established to increase transparency on Ethiopia’s Grand Renaissance Dam has begun its work, the Ministry of Water and Energy said.

Water and Energy Minister, Alemayehu Tegenu, told WIC the committee was established to create trust and foster cooperation amongst the lower riparian countries.

The committee was established on the basis of the pact signed by Sudan, Ethiopia and Egypt to form a team that reviews the benefit and impact of the dam, he said.

The committee, which consists of two experts from each country and four foreign professionals, convened its first meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The second meeting will be held in Sudan, the minister said.

The committee, in its first meeting set criteria on how to include international experts, Alemayehu noted.

Ethiopia has already commenced construction work as it has strong belief that the dam would not harm the water security of Sudan and Egypt, he said.