bikyamasr, May 08, 2011
CAIRO: Negotiations over the construction of the biggest African hydroelectric plant appeared to cool down after Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi agreed on postponing the signature of a Nile Water agreement, due on the May 14.
According to Zenawi, this will allow Egypt to stabilize the country’s current political crisis and take up a more active role in the negotiations.
The move followed the visit of a 48-member Egyptian delegation to Addis Ababa aiming to dissuade Zenawi from the sudden “arms race.”
When Zenawi announced the construction of the Millennium Dam in mid-March, Egypt was dealing with the culmination of its popular uprising, which had ousted President Hosni Mubarak and his ruling regime.
After decades of hostile relations with Mubarak, upstream countries finally saw an opportunity to uphold their demands and ask for what they said was their rightful water share to be recognized.
Most of the controversy lies in the fact that even as Ethiopia’s tributaries contribute some 85 percent to the Nile flow at Aswan, Egypt still enjoys the lion’s share of almost 90 percent of the river’s water, approximately 55.5 billion cubic meters yearly.
The share of Nile basin water between riparian countries is still regulated by colonial agreements dating back to 1929 and 1959, respectively.
In a bid to agree on a fairer distribution of Nile water share, upstream countries Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya and Burundi recently signed an understanding that would lead to the re-discussion of the treaties’ terms.
But Egypt depends on the Nile as much as any human society depends on the availability of water.
As intensive exploitation of Nile water allowed the Egyptian population to grow up to more than 80 million people, water is going scarcer in Egypt, feeding fears that any dam or plant built on the Nile would close the tap to Egyptian agriculture and domestic water use.
While it is undeniable that all riparian countries should enjoy equitable rights to water use, Egypt’s high dependence from Nile water seems to be locking negotiations into a loophole.
Dams and tanks
Zenawi provided the Italian company Salini Costruttori with a no-bid contract for the construction of the Millennium Dam.
The company holds long-standing relations with Zenawi’s government, and managed the construction of several other plants in Ethiopia, including the catastrophic and the more than controversial Gibe 3.
More reading on bikyamasr
CAIRO: Negotiations over the construction of the biggest African hydroelectric plant appeared to cool down after Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi agreed on postponing the signature of a Nile Water agreement, due on the May 14.
According to Zenawi, this will allow Egypt to stabilize the country’s current political crisis and take up a more active role in the negotiations.
The move followed the visit of a 48-member Egyptian delegation to Addis Ababa aiming to dissuade Zenawi from the sudden “arms race.”
When Zenawi announced the construction of the Millennium Dam in mid-March, Egypt was dealing with the culmination of its popular uprising, which had ousted President Hosni Mubarak and his ruling regime.
After decades of hostile relations with Mubarak, upstream countries finally saw an opportunity to uphold their demands and ask for what they said was their rightful water share to be recognized.
Most of the controversy lies in the fact that even as Ethiopia’s tributaries contribute some 85 percent to the Nile flow at Aswan, Egypt still enjoys the lion’s share of almost 90 percent of the river’s water, approximately 55.5 billion cubic meters yearly.
The share of Nile basin water between riparian countries is still regulated by colonial agreements dating back to 1929 and 1959, respectively.
In a bid to agree on a fairer distribution of Nile water share, upstream countries Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya and Burundi recently signed an understanding that would lead to the re-discussion of the treaties’ terms.
But Egypt depends on the Nile as much as any human society depends on the availability of water.
As intensive exploitation of Nile water allowed the Egyptian population to grow up to more than 80 million people, water is going scarcer in Egypt, feeding fears that any dam or plant built on the Nile would close the tap to Egyptian agriculture and domestic water use.
While it is undeniable that all riparian countries should enjoy equitable rights to water use, Egypt’s high dependence from Nile water seems to be locking negotiations into a loophole.
Dams and tanks
Zenawi provided the Italian company Salini Costruttori with a no-bid contract for the construction of the Millennium Dam.
The company holds long-standing relations with Zenawi’s government, and managed the construction of several other plants in Ethiopia, including the catastrophic and the more than controversial Gibe 3.
More reading on bikyamasr
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