Page 9 - AfrElec Week 28

AfrElec H Y D R O AfrElec
No deal for GERD as talks fail again
ETHIOPIA
EGYPT has called on Ethiopia to clarify if it has indeed started to ll the $4bn Grand Ethio- pian Renaissance Dam, a er reports in regional media this week that water levels have started to rise.
The Egyptian foreign ministry on July 16 issued a statement demanding “urgent clari ca- tion” on activities at the dam.
is followed a report from Ethiopian state television that showed that the lling of the res- ervoir at the GERD started on July 15.
However, later on the same day, Ethiopian Water and Energy Minister Seleshi Bekele denied that any such activity was taking place.
He con rmed that water levels had increased, but that had happened naturally because of sea- sonal, heavy rainfall.
“ ere is a lot of water going through. ere is heavy rainfall, and the in ow is much greater than the out ow,” he told DPA news agency.
Seleshi said the dam’s wall had been raised to 560 metres compared with 525 metres in 2019, so the lling of the dam was “in conformity with the normal process of the construction”, accord- ing to state broadcaster FANA.
“ e in ow into the reservoir due to heavy rainfall and runoff exceeded the outflow and created natural pooling. This continues until over ow is triggered soon,” he wrote on Twitter.
On July 16, Ethiopia’s national television net- work retracted its previous report about the ini- tial lling of the GERD reservoir.
e confusion happened one day a er talks between Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan on GERD project had again failed.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said a er the talks that UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres had urged the three countries to “seize the opportunity in the coming days to bridge remaining di erences and reach a mutually ben- e cial agreement for their peoples.”
However, on July 16 the Ethiopian Water and Energy Ministry insisted that negotiations on the Dam would continue with Egypt and Sudan.
Bekele said that that negotiations on the dam
would continue in the interest of Ethiopia, and that they would be held not only for the bene t of the current generation, but also for the bene t of future generations.
Egypt said it is hopeful that talks would resume in future after an upcoming African Union summit.
Egypt’s is especially worried about the dam as earlier in July Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced that Addis Ababa would start lling the GERD’s reservoir on July 15, tak- ing advantage of the upcoming rainy season.
He said at the time that the activity would not harm Egypt. However, Cairo is concerned that the dam and its 6,450MW power plant will harm water ows in Egypt on the River Nile, a ecting the country’s agriculture and water supplies.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry told the UN Security Council in June that the dispute would heighten tensions in the region. Egypt also holds that the dam would damage water flows in the Nile, and the economy of Egypt.
Cairo has opposed any unilateral activity by Addis Ababa, and had demanded that Ethiopia adheres to the principles of the international law.
Sudan has gradually moved to Cairo’s posi- tion, and has also written to the UN outlining its desire to reach a breakthrough in talks and to reach a nal agreement.
e GERD is being built 15 km from Ethio- pia’s the border with Sudan.
Sudan and Egypt have sought a legally bind- ing agreement before the dam is lled. e two countries have much support from surrounding Arab nations, and have also brought in medi- ators from the US, although these have so far failed to make a di erence.
Ethiopia maintains its position that it has the sovereign right to build the dam, and while both sides acknowledge the positions of the other sides, Addis Ababa is con dent that it will complete construction without its neighbours’ agreement and begin lling the dam sometime in July.™
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