Name of the Project
Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

Location
The GERD is located on the Abay river, in the Beneshangul Gumuz region of Ethiopia.

Client
Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo).

Project Description
The project envisages a plant with an installed capacity of 6 000 MW that will supply 15 692 GWh/y.

The major components of the project include:
• a 145-m-high, roller-compacted concrete (RCC) dam, with a 1 780-m-long crest;
• a rock-filled saddle dam, 4 800 m long and 45 m high, with 24 upstream bituminous facing;
• two outdoor powerhouses of 3 750 MW and 2 250 MW installed capacity, containing ten and six generating units respectively, each with a capacity of 375 MW; and
• a 500 kV switchyard, which will transmit power from the two powerhouses to the grid.

The main dam and saddle dam will create 74-billion cubic metres of impounding capacity, with a surface area of 1 680 km² at full capacity.

A gated spillway, equipped with six radial gates and with a discharge capacity of 14 700 m³/s at probable maximum flood occurrence, will be located on the left side of the main dam.

A saddle dam on the left side of the RCC dam, with an emergency side spillway, is envisaged to allow for flood discharged directly into the Roseires reservoir.

Construction of 123 km of access roads, as well as camps, workshops and other civil works, form part of the activities for the project.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Value
The project is valued at an estimated $4.8-billion.

Duration
The project is expected to take 78 months.

Latest Developments
The project is 60% complete.

Water ministers from Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia gathered last week to discuss how Africa's largest hydroelectric dam would affect water distribution and access to the Nile.

Water rights and water use from the Nile for power generation still remain highly contentious issues, and there are concerns about GERD's impact on the river and downstream nations.

Nearly a quarter of a billion people rely on the Nile's waters.

Its basin covers Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, South Sudan, Sudan and Egypt.

Egypt and Sudan claim exclusive rights to its use and object to anything that might affect the river. This is based on colonial-era treaties of 1929 and 1959 that gave Egypt and Sudan the lion's share of the Nile's water. Egypt was also given veto power over dams in upstream countries.

Most of Egypt's Nile water originates in Ethiopia from the Blue Nile, and the nation hopes for the Renaissance dam to help boost its economy. In a major breakthrough, the three countries signed a cooperation deal on the project in 2015, but Egypt still fears that the dam will cut into its water supply.

"The building of a great dam is bound to have impacts, both locally and throughout the river system, it's all one joined-up system. However, the way that it's done, the way that it's built, the way that it's filled, and the way that it's managed can massively reduce those impacts," professor and chair of Physical Geography at the UK-based Nottingham University Colin Thorne, has told Qatar broadcaster Al Jazeera.

He believes that if the addition of another dam to a river is done in a coordinated fashion, with the existing dams and water resource developments, could be beneficial.

Asked about Egypt's concerns regarding the dam and its impact, Thorne has replied: "I think any country in Egypt's position would have concerns about developments of a major water resource upstream . . . they don't have control over what happens upstream . . . but they must enter into full dialogue with Sudan, Ethiopia . . . with the other countries in the Nile basin. That's the only way that the Nile can be managed in a coordinated fashion to the benefit of all the nations."

According to Thorne, there is always a possibility of a regional resource conflict. He contends that "the Nile is a fantastic water resource. It's been exploited for not just centuries but millennia, and that's going to go on in the future at a time of increased water stress because of climate change. And if the nations and the engineers and the technical experts work together, then fears, although understandable, will be unnecessary".

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Salini Costruttori, a subsidiary of Salini Impregilo (construction contract) and Alstom (turbine and generators).

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
EEPCo, tel +251 11 1 55 95 67, fax +251 11 1 57 1860 or email eepcocommunication@yahoo.com.