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-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.

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

Duration
Completion is expected in 2015.

Latest Developments
Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan have signed an agreement finalising the two firms tasked with carrying out studies on the potential impact of Ethiopia's Grand Renaissance Dam on the flow of the Nile, the countries’ respective foreign and water ministers have said.

The three countries had initially picked French firm BRL and Dutch firm Deltares in April last year, but Deltares withdrew, resulting in the countries replacing it with French firm Artelia.

The leaders of the three countries signed a cooperation deal in Khartoum in March 2015 that paved the way for a joint approach to regional water supplies.

Cairo and Addis Ababa had previously been locked in a bitter war of words over Ethiopia's $4-billion project.

Technical studies will start in February, when the six ministers are due to meet again, and will take between six and 15 months, Sudanese Water Resources, Irrigation, and Electricity Minister Moataz Mousa has said.

The principles in the March agreement included prioritising downstream countries for electricity generated by the dam, a mechanism for resolving conflicts, and providing compensation for damages.

Signatories also pledged to protect the interests of downstream countries when the dam's reservoir is filled.

Addis Ababa has long complained that Cairo is pressuring donor countries and international lenders to withhold funding from the 6 000 MW dam, which is being built by Italy's largest construction firm Salini Impregilo.

Egypt, which relies almost exclusively on the Nile for farming, industry and domestic water use, has sought assurances that the dam will not significantly cut its flow to its rapidly growing population.

Even before the impact studies have been started, officials say 50% of the dam's construction has been completed.

Ethiopia, the source of the Blue Nile, which joins the White Nile in Khartoum and continues to Egypt, says the dam will not disrupt flow. It hopes that the project will transform it into a power hub for the electricity-hungry region.

The Grand Renaissance Dam is the centrepiece of Ethiopia's bid to become Africa's biggest power exporter. Addis Ababa plans to spend some $12-billion on harnessing its rivers for hydro power production in the next two decades.

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.