Riyaz Patel
Ethiopia has firmly rejected a proposal by Egypt to operate a $4 billion hydropower dam on the Nile, further deepening a dispute between the two nations over the massive billion project.
Speaking in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa, Sileshi Bekele, the country’s water minister described Egypt’s plan, including the volume of water it wants the dam to release annually, as “inappropriate.”
“The proposal from Egypt was unilaterally decided…(it) didn’t consider our previous agreements,” he said.
“We can’t agree with this… we will prepare our counter proposal.”
Egypt said Ethiopia had “summarily rejected” its plan for key aspects of the operation while claiming Ethiopia’s overtures were “unfair and inequitable.”
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), announced in 2011, is designed to be the centrepiece of Ethiopia’s bid to become Africa’s biggest power exporter, seeking to generate more than 6,000 megawatts.
Cairo and Addis Ababa are at odds over the annual flow
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