Name and Location
Grand Renaissance dam hydropower project, Ethiopia.

Client
Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo).

Project Description
The Grand Renaissance dam hydropower project, located on the Abay river, in the Beneshangul Gumuz region, 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-heigh roller-compacted concrete (RCC) dam with a 1 780-m-long crest;
• a saddle dam, 4 800 m long and 45 m high, will be rock-filled, 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 power houses 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 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.

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

Duration
Completion is expected by 2015.

Latest Developments
The protracted dispute between Egypt and Ethiopia about the Grand Renaissance dam is expected to be settled by June this year, when a study on its impact is concluded.

After years of threats by Egypt and defiance by Ethiopia, a tripartite committee, which also includes Sudan established to supervise construction of the $4.8-billion mega project. The committee will announce an independent international firm before the end of January to conduct a comprehensive study on the dam’s impact.

The Tripartite International Panel of Experts committee is tasked with investigating the impact of the dam and addressing the concerns of the two riparian countries.

The firm is expected to complete the impact study by June.

The development comes at a time when a new battlefront has been opened, after Ethiopia decided to increase the dam’s capacity from 63-billion cubic metres to 74-billion cubic metres.  

“The tripartite committee is expected to meet in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to sign the final contract for a comprehensive study to be carried out,” says Egypt's Irrigation Minister Hossam Moghazi.

About seven firms from Germany, Switzerland, France, Holland and Australia have been shortlisted to undertake the study, which is expected to resolve the protracted conflict that was ignited by Ethiopia’s decision to build the megapower plant along the Nile river.
 
By the end of last year, about 40% of construction works had been completed and the first stage of the facility is expected to start operation in the middle of this year.

Despite Ethiopia’s defiance, and its insistence on the project being central to its energy ambitions, Egypt has strongly maintained the dam will have adverse impacts on the country that depend on the river for about 90% of its water needs.

Egypt contends that the dam will impact on the flow of the Nile at a time when the country needs an additional 21-billion cubic metres of water a year by 2050, in addition to its current 55-billion-cubic-metre quota to meet water needs of a projected population of 150-million. Currently the country has a population of 80-million.

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.
Alstom VP corporate external communications, Christine Rahard-Burnat, tel +33 1 41 49 32 95 or
email Christine.rahard@chq.alstom.com.
Salini Impregilo, tel +39 06 67761, fax +39 06 6776288 or email info@salini-impregilo.com.