ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – The reservoir behind Ethiopia’s Great Renaissance Dam is filling up, its water minister said on Wednesday, a day after talks with Sudan and Egypt over the giant Blue Nile hydroelectric project .
A satellite image of the brochure shows a close-up view of the Ethiopian Great Renaissance Dam (GERD) and the Blue Nile River in Ethiopia on July 12, 2020. Satellite Image © 2020 Maxar Technologies via REUTERS
Sudan and Egypt fear that the $ 4 billion dam may cause water shortages in their own nations.
“The construction of the dam and the filling of the water go hand in hand,” Ethiopia’s water minister Seleshi Bekele said in televised comments, the transcript of which was released to Reuters by his office. “The filling of the dam does not need to wait until its completion.”
The water level had risen from 525 meters to 560 meters, he said.
Seleshi’s comments did not address whether Ethiopia had closed the gates of the dam. The area has also seen recent heavy rains.
“I understand that their statement is that they have not closed the points of sale,” said Dina Mufti, spokeswoman for the Foreign Ministry.
Seleshi had tweeted earlier in the day: “The inflow to the reservoir due to heavy rains and runoff exceeded the outflow and created the natural buildup. This continues until the overflow is triggered soon. ”
The minister, his spokesperson and the prime minister’s office spokeswoman did not return calls seeking clarification.
The project has raised concerns in Egypt that the already limited waters of the Nile, on which its 100 million people heavily depend, will be restricted. The Blue Nile is a tributary of the Nile from which Egypt derives 90% of its fresh water.
Egypt asked Ethiopia for urgent clarification on whether it had begun to fill the reservoir, the foreign ministry said.
On Tuesday, talks between the three nations to regulate the flow of water from the dam did not reach an agreement.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters that Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had urged the three countries “to seize the opportunity in the coming days to bridge the remaining differences and reach an agreement of mutual benefit to their peoples. ”
The dam, when completed, will have an installed capacity of 6,450 megawatts, more than double Ethiopia’s existing capacity, and is the centerpiece of the country’s bid to become Africa’s largest energy exporter.
The dam is being built about 15 km (9 miles) from the border with Sudan. Sudan and Egypt have sought a legally binding agreement before the dam is filled.
Sudan’s Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources said it was asked to investigate after satellite images appeared to show the fill of the reservoir.
“It was evident from the flow meters at the al-Deim border station with Ethiopia that there is a drop in water levels, equivalent to 90 million cubic meters per day, confirming the closure of the gates of the Dam of the Renaissance, “he said. in a sentence.
Sudan rejects any unilateral action taken by either side while negotiating efforts continue, he said.
Additional reports by Khalid Abdelaziz in Khartoum and Michelle Nichols in New York; Written by George Obulutsa and Katharine Houreld; Edition of John Stonestreet, Nick Macfie and Giles Elgood
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