Ethiopia has officially inaugurated its US$5bn Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), almost a decade and a half after initial work commenced back in 2011
Africa's largest hydroelectric dam, electricity production has slowly increased since the first turbine was switched on in 2022, to now reach a maximum of 5,150MW of power.
The main dam, 170 metres high and 1,800 metres long, is the largest gravity dam in rolled concrete ever built in Africa.
Ethiopia now hopes the mega project — among the 20 biggest hydroelectric dams in the world — will provide energy to millions across the region.
At a ceremony at the site in Guba, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed addressed a crowd of gathered dignitaries including the presidents of Somalia, Djibouti and Kenya— though not those of Egypt and Sudan, which have long expressed concerns about the project.
Egypt, which built its own Aswan High Dam on the Nile in the 1960s, fears it could restrict its water supply during droughts, and could encourage the construction of other upstream dams.
“To our [Sudanese and Egyptian] brothers; Ethiopia built the dam to prosper, to electrify the entire region and to change the history of black people,” said Abiy. “It is absolutely not to harm its brothers.”
Abiy added that the dam will improve access to electricity for almost half the population who had none as recently as 2022, as well export surplus energy to the region.
The project was designed and built by Italy-based Webuild - Webuild's CEO Pietro Salini also attended the inauguration event.
It has now completed 30 projects in Ethiopia, with a strong focus on the hydroelectric sector.
Others include the Beles Multipurpose Project, with an underground hydroelectric power plant — the largest in the country at the time of its inauguration — and the Gibe III dam on the Omo River, standing 250 meters high, which at the time of its opening was the highest RCC dam in the world.
Construction is currently underway for the Koysha Dam, the second largest hydroelectric project in Ethiopia after GERD, which will further contribute to the country's energy transition.
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Ethiopia inaugurates GERD mega dam
Inauguration of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (Image source: Office of the Prime Minister of Ethiopia)
