Ethiopia’s Nile dam reservoir project angers Egypt and Sudan

Egypt expressed its discontentment after Ethiopia declared that the reservoir of a divisive hydroelectric dam on the Blue Nile River had reached capacity.

Egypt has expressed its displeasure following Ethiopia's announcement that the reservoir of a highly contentious hydroelectric dam on the Blue Nile River has been full.

Since the megaproject's inception in 2011, Ethiopia has been at odds with Egypt and Sudan over it. Nearly all of Egypt's water needs are met by the Nile. According to Egypt's foreign ministry, Ethiopia is ignoring the interests of the countries downstream.

Ethiopia claims the $4.2 billion (£3.4 billion) project won't reduce their share of the Nile's water.

Abiy Ahmed, the prime minister of Ethiopia, acknowledged that the project had encountered "internal and external obstacles," but said, "We endured all that." Electricity production at the dam started in February 2022.

Since half of Ethiopia's 127 million people now lack access to electricity, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is expected to treble the nation's energy output and significantly advance its economic development.

The dam, which is positioned about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from Ethiopia's border with Sudan, is expected to produce more than 6,000 MW of energy.

In order to prevent Ethiopia, which is energy-hungry, from making their already severe water shortages worse, Egypt and Sudan say that uniform guidelines for the operation of GERD must be agreed upon.

Following a pause in 2021, project-related negotiations were restarted last month.

Ethiopia's "unilateral" filling of the reservoir, according to an Egyptian foreign ministry statement posted on Facebook, was "illegal" and in violation of a declaration of principles that the three nations signed in 2015.