africareview, March 17, 2011
Egyptian authorities are furious over new plans by the Ethiopian Government to construct three giant hydro power dams on the Blue Nile.
The Blue Nile provides over 80 per cent of the Nile waters and its flow is therefore a matter of life and death for Egypt.
"We are planning to carry out a number of important projects, including a major project on the Nile," Mr Meles told reporters.
However, the document obtained by Africa Review from the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCO) mentioned unpublicised new dams set for construction, that will be inaugurated in the Western Ethiopia region of Benshangul Gumuz, just 40km east from Sudanese border.
Ethiopia plans to generate 6,000MW of electricity from the new dams, whose construction may take five to 10 years. The document does not mention specific details.
Egyptian authorities are furious over new plans by the Ethiopian Government to construct three giant hydro power dams on the Blue Nile.
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| PM Meles Zenawi |
The angry Egyptians plan to send a team to discuss the issue with the Ethiopia despite the latter’s insistence the plan was not intended to harm Egypt.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi recently hinted his government planned to use more of the Nile waters for development activities in the drought-prone country, which is the second most populous in Africa.
Mr Meles said in the next one month the new hydro-dam projects will be inaugurated.
The Blue Nile provides over 80 per cent of the Nile waters and its flow is therefore a matter of life and death for Egypt.
"We are planning to carry out a number of important projects, including a major project on the Nile," Mr Meles told reporters.
However, the document obtained by Africa Review from the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCO) mentioned unpublicised new dams set for construction, that will be inaugurated in the Western Ethiopia region of Benshangul Gumuz, just 40km east from Sudanese border.
Ethiopia plans to generate 6,000MW of electricity from the new dams, whose construction may take five to 10 years. The document does not mention specific details.
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