Completion of GERD matter of survival for Ethiopia, negotiating team

Addis Ababa, April 24, 2020 (FBC) –A member of the Ethiopian negotiating team said the completion of the Grand Ethiopia Renaissance Dam (GERD) is not only an issue of development but also a mater survival.

Zerihun Abebe, who represented Ethiopia in a number of negotiations held regarding the dam, told FBC that GERD is beyond development. It is inextricably linked with Ethiopia’s survival.

The Blue Nile River is the major source of surface waters to Ethiopia, producing 112 million cubic meters of waters per year, Zerihun outlined.

He said the Blue Nile basin which includes tributaries of Aby, Tekeze, Baro and Akobo rivers, accounts for 72% of the nation’s annual water volume.

Since 45 to 50 million people living in 9 regional states of the country rely on the waters of the Blue Nile River, the basin is a matter of existence to the nation, he said.

A second-year post graduate student at the Addis Ababa University (AAU), Meqdelawit Messay, said the completion of the GERD project has a crucial role to meet the 17 sustainable development goals set by the United Nations.

It is also a matter of survival for other riparian countries, she said, calling the Nile basin countries to join hands for common development agenda over the river.

Ethiopia will start filling the dam, which currently stood at 73% completion status, in the upcoming rainy season. Once completed, it will be the largest hydropower plant in Africa