In numbers
6671 km : total length of the Nile
11 : number of countries located in the Nile basin
423 million of people living in the 11 Nile Basin countries*
* Source : Encyclopedia Universalis
The dam
With its 145 m height, 1.7 km length and a capacity of 74 billion m3 of water, the Gerd Dam – or Great Renaissance Dam – is the largest hydroelectric dam in Africa. It is located on the Blue Nile, in the Ethiopian region of Amhara (north), 16 km from the Sudanese border. Its filling completed at the beginning of September, it should ultimately provide (at the earliest in 2025) more than 5,000 megawatts of electricity, the equivalent of the Robert-Bourassa dam (former LG2).
Resistance
For Ethiopia, this US 4.2 billion project is seen as legitimate and essential to its development. The dam would in fact make it possible to double electricity production in the country, while half of its population of 120 million people does not have access to it. Sudan and Egypt instead see it as a threat to their water supplies, with potentially serious human and environmental consequences. They also evoke historical rights, resulting from agreements with former colonial powers.
The discussions
Egypt, which depends on the Nile for more than 90% of its water needs, has been speaking out against the Ethiopian project since 2011. Cairo has even threatened to bomb the dam, raising fears of the possibility of war between the two country. New tripartite discussions ended on December 19, without agreement. Seeking an agreement to guarantee its access to the source, Egypt accuses Ethiopia of being “opposed to any compromise”.