The source of a genuine diplomatic struggle between Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt, the Great Dam of the Renaissance (GERD) is expected to begin production next October. Following the installation of the first 780-tonne hydro-electric rotor, 750 megawatts is expected next month.
While the installation of this rotor on one of the units known as number 10 was completed this week, Egypt and Sudan expressed support for a resumption of negotiations with Ethiopia. This follows a series of high-level meetings undertaken by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which currently leads the Presidency of the African Union (AU).
It is also after the declaration of the Security Council of Nations calling on the three countries to «resume negotiations» under the aegis of the African Union, to finalize an agreement.
Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt have been fighting for years over the filling of the gigantic Renaissance Barrier on the Blue Nile. This week, they were encouraged by the United Nations and the African Union to resume negotiations with a view to reaching an agreement.
Supporting the resumption of negotiations, Sudanese diplomacy, on the occasion of the visit of a delegation from the Democratic Republic of the Congo that chairs the African Union, declared that «we must change the ineffective method that characterized the previous negotiations».
Led by the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Christophe Lutundula Apala, the Congolese delegation was to visit Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan. She gave officials from three countries a document including the points of contention that divide them on the management of this dam which, once completed, will become the largest hydroelectric infrastructure in Africa.
Meanwhile, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s spokesperson, Billene Seyoum, on Thursday, 16 September, called for “a friendly resolution centred on Africa and led by Africans.”
According to Éthiopian Electric Power(EPP), the owner of the Gerd, “the installation of the rotor and turbine at the dam can be seen as a sign that the dam is about to start producing electricity.”
ALT.
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