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Ethiopia has built a giant hydroelectric dam on the Blue Nile and has begun to maintain the water flow to fill the reservoir behind it for the second year in a row.
Egypt is concerned that the dam will affect the overall flow of the Nile River and, along with the Sudan River countries, has brought the issue to the UN Security Council with a view to reaching a binding agreement on the operation of the dam.
Here’s what you know about diplomatic disagreement:
What is the project about?
Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is the source A nearly decade-long diplomatic stay between Ethiopia and Egypt and the nations down the Sudan River.
A $ 4 billion GERD was announced in early 2011 that Egypt was in political turmoil.
It is the backbone of Ethiopia’s bid to become Africa’s largest exporting power, with a forecast of more than 6,000 megawatts.
Despite delays in construction, Ethiopia began filling the reservoir behind the dam in 2020.
With this initial two-year compliance stage, the water level in the reservoir will reach 595 meters out of 632 meters.
Once completed, it will become the largest hydroelectric power plant in Africa and the seventh largest dam in the world. according to reports In the Ethiopian state media.
Nile water
The Nile Basin river system runs through 11 countries. The Blue Nile and the White Nile merge into Sudan into Egypt and into the Mediterranean Sea.
Egypt based its share of the river’s water on a deal in 1959 that provided it with 55.5 billion cubic meters of water annually and Sudan 18.5 billion cubic meters of water.
No other countries were awarded at the time and Ethiopia does not recognize the agreement.
The conflict centers How many years should Ethiopia fill and fill the reservoir quickly and in the event of a year-long drought how much water it would release down the river.
What does he say in Egypt?
Egypt, with a rapid growth of more than 100 million people, relies on the Nile Mountains for at least 90 percent of its fresh water.
The desert country already has little water. It imports about half of its food and recycles about 25 billion cubic meters every year.
Egypt is most concerned about the risk of drought conditions, such as the late 1970s and early 80s, and Ethiopia has pushed for the reservoir to be filled in the longer term to ensure minimum flows.
If water flows are limited in drought conditions, Egypt says it could lose more than a million jobs and lose $ 1.8 billion in economic output each year, yet it has acknowledged that it is unlikely to accept that scenario.
In general, Egypt has taken it as a dam existential threat its water supply.
What does Ethiopia say?
Ethiopia, with a population of more than 110 million, accuses Egypt of trying to maintain colonial adherence in the waters of the Nile by establishing rules for the fulfillment and operation of the dam.
He said the interests of Egypt and Sudan are being taken into account, and that the flow requirements guaranteed by Egypt are unrealistic.
He also said he could complete the reservoir within two to three years, but has made a concession proposing a four- to seven-year process.
Ethiopia it also says power the creation of huge hydroelectric projects is essential for its development.
What is Sudan’s stance?
Sudan has no shortage of water supply on the Nile and can benefit from the generation of electricity from the dam and by mitigating floods.
However, Sudan is concerned about the safety of the dam, which is on the other side of its border with Ethiopia.
Khartoum has called for information sharing to minimize its impact on its dams and water stations, and has taken preventive measures on its dams before the second GERD filler, citing a lack of data from Ethiopia.
Lectures
The two sides have blamed each other for repeatedly stopping negotiations. Interviews organized by Washington broke down last year, and efforts to relaunch Kinshasa this year also failed.
Although the African Union has facilitated recent efforts, Sudan and Egypt have called on the United States, the European Union and the United Nations to mediate directly.
If Ethiopia has deal with this, saying that diplomacy outside the UA process “diminishes” the effort of the African body.
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