A handout satellite image showing a
closeup view of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in Ethiopia
on July 12, 2020. PHOTO | REUTERS
Khartoum
Addis
Ababa has refuted claims it has begun filling the Grand Ethiopian
Renaissance Dam (GERD), just days after talks with Sudan and Egypt
failed to reach agreement on how to regulate the flow of the Nile waters
from the reservoir.
In a statement on
Thursday, Addis Ababa said the amount of water flowing downstream, to
Sudan and Egypt, had predictably reduced after the dam structure was
raised, absorbing more of the incoming water.
The
Ethiopian Water, Irrigation and Energy Minister, Dr Seleshi Bekele, the
said his country had not blocked the flow of water as earlier claimed.
“The
GERD construction has reached level 560m compared to level 525m last
year this time. The inflow into the reservoir due to heavy rainfall and
runoff exceeded the outflow and created natural pooling. This continues
until overflow is triggered soon,” Dr Seleshi said.
“The
dam is yet to be constructed to level 640m in the following years. In
fact, predicted heavy rain this year is expected to cause huge flooding
in the region.”
Ethiopia’s comment comes after Sudan on
Wednesday claimed the volume of water reaching its territory had reduced
and accused Addis Ababa of filling the dam without reaching an
agreement.
Both Sudan and Egypt have raised
concerns that the mega-dam project could see their countries face water
shortages since millions of their citizens depend on the Nile for
livelihood.
Khartoum’s Ministry of
Irrigation and Water Resources said on Wednesday that the volume in the
Nile had gone down by as much as 90 million cubic metres of water per
day, attributing it to the closure of the GERD gates.
“Local
and international media circulated information and pictures taken by
satellites indicating that Ethiopia started filling the Renaissance Dam
before reaching an agreement on the first filling and operation," said
the ministry, adding that it tasked its agencies specialised in
measuring the levels of the Blue Nile to investigate the authenticity of
the information.
“It was evident through
the flow measures of water at Al-deem station near the Ethiopian border
that there is a decline in water levels equivalent to 90 million cubic
meters per day, that is confirming the closure of the gates of GERD.”
Sudan raised the alarm as Egypt sought “urgent clarification” on the reports that Addis Ababa had begun filling the dam.
Officially,
Ethiopia maintains it has a sovereign right to fill the dam, even
before the three countries agree on technical arrangements of the
filling.
The $4.5 billion mega-dam is
projected to have a capacity of 6.4GW power when complete. Ethiopia says
the project has reached a stage to start the initial storage process
estimated at 4.9 billion cubic metres out of its 74 billion cubic metres
capacity.
On Tuesday, the three countries
failed to agree on technical and legal details regarding the rules for
filling and operating the dam.
Sudan said
it sent its final report on the GERD to the African Union following an
end to negotiations and included a draft of “balanced and fair
agreement” that it says is suitable to be the basis for a comprehensive
tripartite pact.
Egypt fears the dam will
deny it its annual share of the Nile's water, and demands an agreement
on files, including the safety of the dam and the setting of rules for
filling it in times of drought.
Ethiopia sees the hydroelectric project as important for its economic growth.
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