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.

Project Owner/s
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 a bituminous surface 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 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 the discharge of floodwater directly into the Roseires reservoir.

The 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.

Capital Expenditure
The project is valued at $4.8-billion.

Planned Start/End Date
In January, Ethiopia's Water and Energy Minister said that, following construction delays, the dam would start production by the end of 2020 and be fully operational by 2022.

Latest Developments
Egypt and Sudan have rejected an Ethiopian proposal to share data on the operations of its giant hydropower dam on the Blue Nile after negotiations between the three countries in Kinshasa had ended without progress on April 10.

Ethiopia is pinning its hopes of economic development and power generation on the GERD, which Egypt fears will imperil its supply from the Nile. Sudan is also concerned about the impact on its own water flows.

Cairo and Khartoum have said that they are seeking a legally binding agreement over the operations of the dam, which Addis Ababa says is crucial to its economic development.

“Sudan believes that exchanging information is a necessary procedure, but that the Ethiopian offer to do so in the manner indicated by their letter implies suspicious selectivity in dealing with what has been agreed upon,” the Sudanese irrigation ministry has said.

After the Kinshasa meeting, Ethiopia emphasised that the second-year filling of the dam reservoir would be undertaken as scheduled.

Sudan has said it will hold 600-million cubic meters of water at its Jebel Awliya reservoir to “ensure the continued operation of the pumpstations on the White Nile and the Nile river to meet agricultural and drinking water needs” in preparation for Ethiopia’s second fill.

Irrigation and Water Resources Minister Mohamed Abdel Aty has said that while reserves at the Aswan High dam could help stave off the effects of a second fill, his chief concern is drought management.

Sudan and Egypt have proposed including the European Union, the US and the United Nations as mediators, in addition to ongoing African Union facilitation of the talks. Ethiopia rejected the proposal during the Kinshasa meeting.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Salini Costruttori, a subsidiary of Salini Impregilo; GE Hydro France, China Gezhouba Group Corp, Voith Hydro Shanghai and China's Sinohydro Corp (construction contract) and Alstom (turbine and generators).

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