Ethiopia announced this Monday, July 19, the end of the filling of its controversial large pond called the “Renaissance” (GERD). This replenishment had begun discreetly at the beginning of the month, despite warnings and concerns from Sudan and Egypt and despite the lack of agreement between the three major coastal countries on the exploitation of water from the Nile. But now the dam will be prepared for the first generation of electricity, Addis Ababa reported.
Outstanding rain recently fell in the Ethiopian region at the sources of the Blue Nile. The filling of the huge renaissance dam was also fast, explained the Minister of Water, Irrigation and Energy, Seleshi Bekele. The container has reached the overflow facilities and also passes through the lower valves wide open, he explained on Twitter.
Today, July 19, 2021, the GERD reservoir reached the overwater level. Currently, the incoming flow passes through both the bottom outlets and the skip. This year we are also experiencing extreme rainfall in the Abbay Basin (Blue Nile Basin). As a result, the GERD container pic.twitter.com/MGPeEyC1UF
– Dr Eng Seleshi Bekele (@seleshi_b_a) July 19, 2021
The next step will be to start electricity production “in the next few months”, he added, probably initially at 750 megawatts – about a fifth of national production – of the 5,000 megawatts planned when the work is completed.
Ethiopia’s goal has therefore been achieved despite tensions with its neighbors, because what has not been achieved is that Addis Ababa agrees in advance with Khartoum and Cairo on the operation of the river. And related legal rights.
Ethiopia is not running. She wants to stay on the initiative of the Congolese Presidency, which is fighting to set up a three-way meeting to resolve the issue only under the leadership of the African Union. But Sudan and Egypt want a broader commitment, especially from the UN.
Read also: Renaissance Dam: in Kinshasa, the tripartite meeting ends without agreement
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