Ethiopia’s Genale Dawa III dam that is planned to generate more than 250MW is near completion, the government announced on Tuesday
The project, built on the Genale-Dawa River at a cost of $451mn, will raise the country's electricity installed generating capacity to 4,541MW.
Minister of Water, Irrigation and Electricity minister, Dr Sileshi Bekele, also an engineer, said “The project is 91 per cent completed and the electrical and mechanical works which allow the dam to generate power are progressing well."
The construction of a spillway, powerhouse, a 12.4 km tunnel are among the works that have been finished, said the minister.
Launched six years ago, the 110 metre high and 426 metre long Genale Dawa III hydropower dam has the capacity to hold 2.57 bn cu m of water and generate 254MW.
The Genale Dawa III dam will regulate river flows downstream to the Genale-Dewa V project, and the Genale-Dawa VI, ensuring that the river will become a reliable power source. It is also expected to boost an increase in energy exports to neighbouring Kenya.
Ethiopia has the potential to generate 50,000MW from hydropower, 1.3 millionMW from wind and more than 10,000MW from geothermal energy.
Below is a video by Ethiopian Electric Power on Genale Dawa III Hydro Power.
