ETHIOPIA began generating electricity from its giant hydropower dam on a Nile River tributary, a project it sees as key to its economic development but that has stirred tensions with downstream neighbours.
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam can now start the first phase of generation, authorities said Sunday at a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in Guba, near the border with Sudan.
Ethiopia does not intend to harm anyone, rather, to provide for the 60% of the population that have never seen a bulb, as well as our mothers who carry firewood for energy,” Abiy said. “The intention is not to harm anyone but to collaborate.”
The GERD will be able to generate a total of 5,150 megawatts when finished, according to authorities. The project started a decade ago, has cost $5 billion and is now scheduled for completion in 2024. Ethiopia last year completed the controversial second
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