Ethiopia inaugurates Grand Renaissance Dam, Egypt pushes back
Shafaq News – Addis Ababa (Updated on September 9 at 15:10)
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Tuesday officially inaugurated the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), built on the Blue Nile, according to the state-run Ethiopian News Agency (ENA).
Egypt Objects
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty sent a letter to the UN Security Council, describing the inauguration as a unilateral act that violates international law and ignores the Council’s 2021 presidential statement on the Nile dispute. He stressed that Egypt rejects any attempt to impose faits accomplis on the river and reaffirmed Cairo’s right to take all measures allowed under international law to safeguard its vital interests.
About the Dam
Launched in 2011 at a cost of $5 billion, the GERD is designed to generate 5,150 megawatts once fully operational, with two turbines already producing 750 megawatts. Ethiopia, the continent’s second most populous nation with around 120 million people, views the project as central to its economic future. Abiy has portrayed the dam as essential for expanding electricity access at home while exporting surplus power to the region.
Egypt and Sudan, however, remain deeply concerned. Egypt, with a population of about 108 million, depends on the Nile for 90 percent of its fresh water and warns that the project poses an existential threat while violating long-standing water treaties. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tamim Khallaf warned on Monday that Egypt would “exercise its right to take all appropriate measures to defend and protect the interests of the Egyptian people.”
Sudan has echoed Egypt’s demand for a binding agreement on the dam’s filling and operation, though it also anticipates benefits from flood control and cheaper power.
The dispute has repeatedly drawn international mediation. During his first term, US President Donald Trump described the project as “dangerous” and suggested Egypt might take drastic action, but his administration failed to broker a settlement.
Despite objections, Ethiopia began filling the reservoir in 2020 and has pressed ahead with construction. Officials in Addis Ababa insist the GERD will not significantly harm downstream nations, presenting it instead as a driver of regional prosperity. "The Renaissance Dam is not a threat, but a shared opportunity," Abiy told parliament in July. "The energy and development it will generate stand to uplift not just Ethiopia."
