Ethiopian dam work going ahead – minister

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The Ethiopian government has insisted that construction work to build a controversial dam on the River Nile is going ahead despite an ongoing dispute with downstream countries like Egypt and Sudan.In a statement released in Addis Ababa on Saturday, the Ethiopian Minister of Water Resources and Energy, Motuma Mekasa said the dam project will not be halted and construction work is proceeding according to schedule.

He denied media reports in Egypt which suggested that Ethiopia was already diverting water from the Nile to fill a new reservoir with connections to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

Ethiopia has always maintained that it would sue for dialogue to rebuild trust among all riparian countries of the Nile despite what she called Egypt’s campaign of misinformation against the dam project.

Ethiopia said GERD is meant to plug the gap in its energy needs, an explanation that has failed to assuage the fears of Egypt and Sudan where there are lingering misgivings that constructing the dam could adversely affect their share of water from the River Nile.

The three countries have selected two French companies Artelia and the BRL group to conduct a feasibility study on the suitability of the dam and its future ramifications for downstream countries.

“The French consultancy firms would conduct their studies while the construction work is going on� Minister Mekasa said.

He said Addis Ababa has extended an invitation to the Foreign and Irrigation ministries of Egypt and Sudan to visit the dam, an overture which denotes the good intentions and trust building between the three nations.

According to him, the Sudanese and Egyptians ministers have since accepted the invitation.

Meeting in Khartoum earlier this week for the latest round of meeting on the future of the dam, the three nations reached an agreement on the work of the consultancy firms which would conduct the technical studies on the dam.

The hydroelectric dam which is meant to boost electricity supply in Ethiopia and satisfy the demands of neighbouring countries is said to be 30 percent complete.

Talks between Cairo and Addis Ababa broke down last year amid differences of opinion over the effect that the dam will have on Egypt’s share of the Nile, on which its citizens depend for their water supply.

Egypt fears that the construction of a dam will have a significantly negative effect on the flow of the Nile River and deprive millions of its people of such a vital resource.

Source: http://en.starafrica.com/