Ethiopia completes controversial Nile dam amid ongoing disputes

Ethiopia has officially announced the completion of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), a power-generating project on the Nile River that has been a source of tension with Egypt and Sudan. The announcement was made by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed during a legislative session, where he stated that the dam is set for an official inauguration in September. The GERD, which Ethiopia began constructing in 2011, aims to produce over 6,000 megawatts of electricity and significantly boost the country's energy capacity. It has already started generating power since 2022 and is seen as crucial to Ethiopia's development plans. Egypt has vehemently opposed the dam, expressing concerns that it threatens its vital share of Nile River waters, which are essential for the water supply of over 100 million Egyptians. Egyptian authorities view the dam as a potential existential threat and assert that the fundamental issue at stake involves the legal rights to Nile River water resources. They have accused Ethiopia of lacking the political will to negotiate a binding agreement regarding the dam, despite years of discussions aimed at addressing the interests of all parties involved, including Sudan. As negotiations stalled, the relationship between Ethiopia and Egypt has been strained, leading to rising tensions that, at times, have raised fears of conflict. Egypt's position is that Ethiopia's ongoing construction and operational decisions on the dam should not be unilateral but should reflect collaborative dialogue among the countries sharing the Nile waters. The Egyptian Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation issued a statement condemning Ethiopia's unilateral actions and referred to the completion of the dam as unlawful, stressing the need for a legally binding agreement. In response, Ethiopian officials assert that the dam is essential for the country's socio-economic development and argue that they do not require external authorization to pursue such projects. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed reinforced this commitment to the Ethiopian development agenda while maintaining that his country desires common prosperity among the Nile basin nations. However, Egyptian officials see its statements regarding negotiations as superficial attempts to improve Ethiopia's international image while continuing its unilateral actions concerning the dam, which they argue go against principles of shared water management for international river systems.