Tripartite meetings on Ethiopia dam adjourned

CAIRO - 20 October 2017: After an 11-hour meeting among water ministers of Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia in Addis Ababa on the controversial Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on Wednesday, the ministers announced another round of talks will be held on Nov. 11 . Ministers say they need to discuss some outstanding issues regarding the impact of the dam on downstream countries Egypt and Sudan.

The Wednesday meeting was held to discuss certain disputed points in a report submitted by the two French consultancy firms (BRL and Artelia) on GERD’s potential impact on Sudan and Egypt.

The report aims to put certain guidelines by which Ethiopia can fill its reservoir without harming the water flow to the two countries. The $ four billion dam is being constructed on the Blue Nile with a capacity of 74 billion cubic meters, and is expected to generate up to 6,000 megawatts of power.

Ethiopian Minister of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Seleshi Bekele said that the three countries have adopted the guidelines, Ethiopian News Agency reported on Thursday.

Since May 2011, Cairo has voiced its concern that the dam could reduce the country’s annual share of more than 56 billion cubic meters of Nile water. Egypt’s average water per-capita is expected to drop from 663 cubic meters per year to 582 cubic meters by 2025, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) in 2014. Addis Ababa, however, claimed that the dam is necessary for its development and will not harm downstream countries.

“Egypt is concerned about the delay of the technical studies recommended by the International Panel of Experts,” said Egyptian Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, Mohamed Abdel-Ati, during the opening session of the Tripartite National Committee on Wednesday.

“Egypt is committed to a tripartite joint cooperation agreement in Khartoum on March 23, 2015, between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia to facilitate all measures necessary for ending the study,” stressed Abdel-Ati.

President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi signed a tripartite joint cooperation agreement in Khartoum on March 23, 2015, between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia. In December 2015, Sisi addressed the public, saying that there is no reason to worry about the dam and that the matter would be resolved. The three countries held 14 rounds of consultation on resolving the disputes over the Renaissance Dam. However, these rounds failed to solve the dispute.

Former Egyptian Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Hossam el-Moughazi stated in November 2015 that the dam construction is going faster than the tripartite talks. On October 1, the Telegraph reported that Ethiopia is finalizing the construction of the dam and then will start filling its reservoir.