Egypt, Sudan build pressure on Italian company responsible for building Ethiopia’s Nile dam
As Ethiopia is set to start the second filling phase of its controversial dam on the Blue Nile, Egypt and Sudan blame the Italian contracting giant Salini Impregilo that built the dam for neglecting the environmental and social impacts the project will have on the two downstream countries.
Egypt and Sudan are trying to intensify their efforts to pressure the Italian contracting giant Salini Impregilo (currently Webuild) that had won a contract to build the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in Ethiopia.
Sudan recently declared its intention to sue the Italian company should Addis Ababa proceed with the second filling stage of the dam’s reservoir.
Sudan’s Irrigation Minister Yasser Abbas said in an April 23 statement, “In the event the second stage of filling the GERD was completed without reaching a legally binding agreement, our legal teams, with the help of international law firms, will file a lawsuit against the Italian company that executed the dam’s project and against the Ethiopian government.”
He explained, “The lawsuit against the company would be based on the fact that environmental and social impacts resulting from the dam’s construction were not considered.”
