Sunday, October 22, 2017

Hydro-economics: Egypt, Ethiopia and the Nile

(Oct 22, (Al Jazeera English))--Water ministers from Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia have gathered last week to discuss how Africa's largest hydroelectric dam will affect water distribution and access to the Nile. The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is 60 percent complete and has yet to go into operation. The $4.8bn megaproject near the Sudanese border was launched in April 2011.

Water rights and the utilisation of water from the Nile for power generation still remain highly contentious issues. And there are concerns about GERD's impact on the river and downstream nations.



Nearly a quarter of a billion people rely on the Nile's waters. Its basin covers eleven countries: Tanzania and Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, South Sudan, Sudan and Egypt.

Egypt and Sudan claim exclusive rights to its use and object to anything that might affect the river. This is based on colonial-era treaties of 1929 and 1959 that gave Egypt and Sudan the lion's share of the Nile's water. Egypt was also given veto power over dams in upstream countries.

Most of Egypt's Nile water originates in Ethiopia from the Blue Nile, and the nation hopes for the Renaissance dam to help boost its economy. In a major breakthrough, the three countries signed a cooperation deal on the project in 2015. But Egypt still fears that the dam will cut into its water supply. Read more from Al Jazeera English »

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