Ethiopia will tomorrow inaugurate Africa’s largest dam, a major source of electricity and national pride for the country, but which threatens to fray ties with nations downstream.
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Nile River — under construction for 14 years — will provide electricity to almost half of the country’s 120 million people while boosting the government’s ambitious electric vehicle rollout. But Sudan and Egypt, both heavily reliant on the Nile’s waters for irrigation and electricity, have said the dam threatens national security, claims that Addis Ababa has rejected.
One expert told the BBC the project reflects changing political tides in the region: “Ethiopia is now projecting power, while Egypt’s fortunes have declined.”
