How Ethiopia's New Dam Could Redefine Africa's Energy Landscape
- Nicanor Maina
- Oct 8
- 3 min read
BY: NICANOR MAINA / STAFF WRITER
Decades in the making, Ethiopia’s new dam has finally been opened, and here is what that means for the future of the country as well as East Africa.
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) began construction in 2011, with then-Prime Minister Meles Zenawi announcing it. The government called on the citizens to help fund the project, having children, civil servants, and anyone else chip in.
Now, 14 years later, the project has been completed, becoming Africa’s largest hydroelectric project. The dam was inaugurated two days before the Ethiopian New Year.
The idea of building the dam has been discussed since Africa’s colonial era. Dating back to the early 19th century, when England and Italy were the two major powers in the region, plans of construction on the Blue Nile were there, but were never fulfilled. The idea would spark up again when the United States withdrew funding for the Aswan Dam. Due to Egypt’s ties with THE Soviet Union in the 1950s.
“However generously Ethiopia may be prepared to share this tremendous God-given wealth of hers with friendly neighboring countries, … it is Ethiopia’s primary and sacred duty to develop her water resources in the interest of her own rapidly expanding population and economy,” Selassie said in 1957.
In 1929, the United Kingdom, then the colonial ruler of Sudan, signed a treaty with Egypt that granted Cairo the largest share of the Nile’s waters and the power to veto upstream construction projects. Following Sudan’s independence in 1956, the two countries signed a new agreement in 1959, which effectively solidified their exclusive control over the use of
Nile waters, excluding other upstream and downstream riparian states, from any role in water management or decision-making. Ethiopia was never a part of any of these treaties.
Despite repeated assurances from Ethiopian officials that the dam will not harm downstream nations, Egypt and Sudan remain deeply concerned about its potential impact on their water security, warning that it could disrupt access to the Nile and affect agriculture and urban water supplies. Just last week, both countries issued a joint statement labeling the dam a “threat.”
While Sudan hosts two major Nile tributaries that converge in its capital, Khartoum, Egypt is far more dependent on the river—relying on it for over 90 percent of its freshwater—prompting a more forceful response.
In 2013, Egypt’s then-foreign minister, Mohamed Kamel Amr, underscored the country’s dependence on the river by stating, “No Nile, no Egypt,” echoing a sentiment shared by past Egyptian leaders, including Gamal Abdel Nasser and Mohamed Morsi, who have gone so far as to suggest military intervention if a fair water-sharing agreement is not reached.
Over the years, different governments have come, but the dam has stayed dry. That is, until the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) took charge of the project. The EPRDF is a left-wing coalition of several ethnic parties that formally launched the project in April 2011 to much fanfare.
The construction of the dam would lead to concern from Egypt and Sudan, as they worry that a major dam would decrease the river’s flow and the amount of freshwater needed for irrigation and other uses.
The creation of this dam, however, would benefit the nearly 60 million people in Ethiopia without access to energy.
After Zenawi died in 2012, a year after construction of the GERD began, Ethiopia experienced both rapid development and growing political repression, leading to fragmentation within the ruling EPRDF.
The country’s heavy borrowing for infrastructure projects strained its state-led development model. When Abiy came to power in 2018, promising reforms and more political freedom, the dam was already two-thirds finished. Still, progress stalled, especially after the sudden death of its chief engineer, Simegnew Bekele, just months into Abiy’s tenure.
Conflict would also cause more setbacks, as the Tigray War in November 2020, which would lead to the death of 600,000 people. It became one of the most devastating conflicts in the 21st century.
Despite the delays and funding shortages, GERD would be completed in July of this year, but it has been generating power since 2022. The dam has already met 16% of Ethiopia’s energy needs. Officials estimate that GERD would generate $1 billion in energy exports.
Now that this dam has been opened, it shows an eclectic future for Ethiopia and an even brighter future for East Africa.