Ethiopia open to new negotiations over controversial Blue Nile dam in Africa
(AP) — A senior Ethiopian official says his country is interested in resuming talks with Egypt and Sudan on a huge and controversial Blue Nile dam that will be Africa’s largest hydroelectric power plant.
The comment by Sileshi Bekele, Ethiopia’s former negotiator on the dam and now the country’s ambassador to the United States, came during a meeting with the new U.S. special envoy to the Horn of Africa, Mike Hammer.
A statement by Ethiopia’s foreign ministry on Friday cited the ambassador as highlighting “Ethiopia’s interest to resume the African Union-led trilateral negotiation over the GERD,” or Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.
The multibillion-dollar project is expected to bring electricity to millions of off-grid Ethiopians, but Sudan and Egypt fear it will reduce the amount of water they receive from the Nile River.
Several past rounds of negotiations among Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan have failed. Egypt fears a quick filling of the dam will reduce its share of Nile waters and seeks a binding legal agreement in case of a dispute.
In February, Ethiopia said it had begun producing power from one unit of the dam.
Earlier on Friday, the foreign ministry spokesman Dina Mufti told reporters the third filling of the dam is on schedule this year.
“We have been saying since the start of the dam’s construction that tripartite talks will continue,” he added.
Related News
From Archive
- Inside Sempra’s 72-mile pipeline with 18 major trenchless crossings
- Trump vetoes bill to finish $1.3 billion Colorado water pipeline
- PHMSA warns of heat risks in aging plastic gas distribution pipelines following deadly Pennsylvania explosion
- Infrastructure failure releases 100,000 gallons of wastewater in Houston; repairs ongoing
- OSHA seeks $1.2 million fine after fatal trench collapse in Connecticut
- Worm-like robot burrows underground to cut power line installation costs
- First tunnel boring machines complete testing for Hudson Tunnel Project
- Infrastructure failure releases 100,000 gallons of wastewater in Houston; repairs ongoing
- Construction jobs stumble into 2026 after weak year
- NWPX grows water infrastructure portfolio with Colorado precast facility
Comments