Ethiopia preps for third filling as Nile dam diplomacy stalls
Hope for negotiations on the crisis with Egypt and Sudan is fading as Ethiopia works toward the third-stage filling of its mega dam on the Blue Nile.
As negotiations remain stalled over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), Ethiopia is beginning to make preparations for the third-stage filling of its mega hydroelectric dam on the Blue Nile, the main tributary of the Nile River.
Abbas Sharaki, a professor of geology and water resources at Cairo University, expects Ethiopia to begin engineering works in November in preparation for the third filling of the dam’s reservoir during the next rainy season.
He explained that a portion of the GERD will first be drained. Then, a concrete wall will be put up in February to raise the body of the dam by an additional 20 meters, so it reaches 595 meters overall, he added.
Sharaki told Al-Monitor that Ethiopia is seeking to store 10.5 billion cubic meters of water, as part of its plan to reach 18.5 billion cubic meters by the end of the next rainy season. An additional 10 billion cubic meters of water will be added annually in the coming years until the target of 74 billion cubic meters is reached.
