Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan reach Nile dam agreement

The diplomatic row between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan looks to be coming to a conclusion, after the three sides agreed on a preliminary agreement over Ethiopia’s Grand Renaissance Dam in Washington DC. 

The deal, brokered by US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and World Bank President David Malpass, set a timeline for the dam’s reservoir to be filled during this summer’s rainy season.

A joint statement released on the US Treasury Department’s website explained how “The filling of the GERD will be executed in stages and will be undertaken in an adaptive and cooperative manner that takes into consideration the hydrological conditions of the Blue Nile.

“Filling will take place during the wet season, generally from July to August, and will continue in September subject to certain conditions.”

However, the statement makes no mention of the speed in which the reservoir will be filled, the point that has proven to be most contentious and led to four previous rounds of talks stalling.

Ethiopia wants to fill the dam over a period of six years, but Egypt, worried this will impact the downstream flow of the river, has instead proposed a period of ten years.

This deal certainly goes some way to easing tensions between both Egypt and Ethiopia, and all parties concerned will convene again in Washington to sign a final deal on 28-29 January.

In public, the signatories have attempted to demonstrate that this is a win-win deal for all sides concerned, but Ethiopia seems to be the ones in the driving seat, especially considering that around 80 per cent of the dam is already complete.

Once completed, the $5bn project will be Africa’s largest hydroelectric dam with a capacity to generate 6,000MW.

Photo credit: DW