Ethiopia inaugurates Africa’s biggest dam despite protest from downstream Egypt, Pg14

Key Highlights:

• Ethiopia inaugurated the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), Africa's largest hydroelectric project.
• The $4 billion GERD is designed to generate 5,150 megawatts of electricity.
• Egypt has protested the dam's inauguration to the United Nations Security Council, calling it a violation of international law.
• The dam, located on the Blue Nile, can hold 74 billion cubic metres of water.

Detailed Insights:

• Construction on the GERD began in 2011, and it stands 170 m tall and stretches nearly 2 km across the Blue Nile.
• Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed hailed the dam as a unifying symbol and a great achievement for all black people.
• Egypt, which relies on the Nile for 97% of its water, views the dam as an existential threat to its water security.
• The GERD project has been a source of tension between Ethiopia, Egypt, and Sudan due to concerns over water rights and dam operations.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Hydroelectric Project: A facility that generates electricity by using the force of moving water to power turbines.
• International Water Law: A set of principles and agreements governing the use and management of shared water resources between nations.
• Water Security: The availability of a reliable and sufficient quantity and quality of water to meet the needs of people and ecosystems.