Ethiopia formally inaugurated the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam Sept. 9, marking completion of a 14-year, $5-billion roller-compacted concrete gravity dam undertaking on the Nile River that now ranks as Africa’s largest hydroelectric facility and a supply of nationwide satisfaction—and regional rigidity.
In remarks carried by state media, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed hailed the occasion as “an emblem of Ethiopia’s renaissance,” including that the dam “will not be constructed to hurt Egypt or Sudan however to gentle up our houses, energy our factories and combine our area,” based on a Reuters pool report. The ceremony was additionally attended by Pietro Salini, chief govt of Webuild Group (previously Salini Impregilo), which designed and constructed the undertaking.
Engineering and Supply
The dam rises about 145 m above the riverbed and stretches 1,780 m throughout, with a structural quantity exceeding 10 million m³ of roller-compacted concrete, based on knowledge revealed by the Ministry of Water and Vitality and Webuild.
The corporate says GERD is the most important RCC gravity dam ever inbuilt Africa by quantity, and that on Dec. 28, 2014, its crews set a world document by putting 23,000 m³ of RCC in 24 hours. Its reservoir—one of many world’s largest—has a storage capability of 74 billion m³, flooding an space of roughly 1,874 km² at full pool.
When all 13 Francis generators are commissioned, GERD will generate as much as 5,150 MW, equal to the output of three medium-sized nuclear reactors, with an anticipated annual era of 15,700 GWh, based on an emailed assertion to ENR by Webuild.
Six generators have been already in operation on the time of inauguration, based on the Monetary Instances, which reported that “all of them will probably be used” following the Sept. 9 ceremony. African Vitality, citing two sources accustomed to the undertaking, additionally confirmed that each one items are anticipated to be prepared for full business operation “imminently.”
Development on the undertaking started in 2011 with an preliminary finances of $4.8 billion. The scope grew as design adjustments and extra electromechanical programs have been included, bringing the ultimate price ticket to roughly $5 billion. Civil works included saddle dam redesigns and spillway upgrades, whereas turbine set up and commissioning are ongoing.
The undertaking’s lead engineer, Simegnew Bekele, a state worker, had been the general public face of the undertaking, managing the early phases till he was murdered in July 2018. His loss of life sparked widespread grief and outrage, ENR reported on the time, in addition to raised questions on whether or not it was linked to the ability undertaking owned by the state utility Ethiopian Electrical Energy Company (EEPC).
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Bekele described GERD as “the manifestation of Ethiopia’s willpower to develop with our personal fingers,” in an announcement posted by EEPC on the time of the dam’s mid-point development. Successive managers carried the undertaking via Blue Nile diversion, roller-compacted concrete placement and reservoir filling, which started in phases beginning in 2020.
In contrast to most international megadams, GERD was constructed largely with out multilateral financial institution funding. The federal government says 91% of the $5 billion price was financed domestically via bonds, payroll contributions and public fundraising.
Solely about $1 billion—protecting generators and electromechanical programs—was offered by China’s Exim Financial institution. “GERD is exclusive not just for its scale however for being self-financed by Ethiopians,” stated Minister of Water and Vitality Habtamu Itefa in a briefing revealed by the ministry earlier this yr.
Webuild emphasised the human scale of the job, noting that greater than 25,000 individuals—largely Ethiopians—labored on the dam over 14 years: “A brand new city has emerged across the web site, with a hospital, colleges, clinics, roads and a bakery,” offering lasting infrastructure for the encircling area.
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Energy, Delight and Strain
State planners see GERD because the linchpin of an electrification push aimed toward reaching common home entry by 2030 whereas positioning Ethiopia as a regional exporter.
Ethiopian officers say agreements are already in place to transmit energy to Sudan, Djibouti and Kenya. “GERD provides the prospect of shared growth if our neighbors select cooperation,” Abiy stated in his inauguration speech. Nevertheless, that prospect stays contested.
Facet-by-side satellite tv for pc pictures of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam and the Blue Nile. (The Feb. 6, 2019, photograph exhibits the river earlier than impoundment, whereas the Feb. 22, 2022, picture exhibits the reservoir stuffed behind the dam.) Picture courtesy of NASA.
With little rainfall of its personal, Egypt will depend on the Nile for almost all its freshwater and has warned that unilateral filling and operation of GERD may threaten its water safety. International Minister Sameh Shoukry stated in an announcement issued by Cairo on Sept. 9 that “Egypt is not going to settle for measures that endanger the lives and livelihoods of 100 million residents.”
Egypt’s issues stem from its place on the far downstream finish of the Nile system. The Blue Nile, which rises in Ethiopia’s highlands, contributes about 60–70% of the river’s whole movement by the point it reaches Aswan. As GERD’s reservoir fills and later regulates seasonal discharges, the quantity and timing of water out there to each Sudan and Egypt could possibly be altered.
Sudan has additionally raised issues about uncoordinated water releases and potential security dangers. Whereas the 2015 Declaration of Rules dedicated Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan to barter working guidelines, no binding settlement has but been reached.
Ethiopian officers counter that reservoir filling has not triggered main downstream disruption. “We have now managed [to fill] in a fashion that balances our wants with the movement to our neighbors,” Habtamu stated in July, based on ministry transcripts.
Past geopolitics, GERD stands as a landmark feat of dam engineering. Its sheer scale locations it within the firm of the world’s largest hydro initiatives, with roller-compacted concrete volumes rivaling China’s Three Gorges Dam.
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Sediment-management designs and security critiques by worldwide specialists have been included into the ultimate construction, based on the ministry. For Ethiopia’s development sector, the undertaking has educated hundreds of staff in RCC methods, hydro-mechanical set up and high-voltage transmission—expertise which can be already being utilized to follow-on infrastructure.
With its inauguration, GERD shifts from an aspirational construct to an working asset able to reshaping East Africa’s power panorama. “This isn’t only a dam,” Abiy stated on the ribbon-cutting. “It’s the cornerstone of Ethiopia’s future.”
For contractors and engineers, the undertaking provides classes in scale, self-financing and supply below extraordinary political and logistical pressures. “With GERD, Webuild reaffirms its international management in delivering large-scale, complicated and sustainable infrastructure,” Salini stated in an announcement.
