Egypt warns as Ethiopia powers up Africa’s largest dam

The Ethiopian government on Tuesday inaugurated the $5 billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in Guba, the largest hydroelectric project in Africa.

The project, which is aimed at providing electricity to millions, has been strongly opposed by Egypt over fears that the dam would cut into its vital Nile water supply.

The dam construction, which began in 2011, has now reached its full capacity of 5,150 megawatts, making it one of the 20 largest hydroelectric dams in the world.

At the inauguration ceremony, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed addressed regional leaders and defended the project. “To our (Sudanese and Egyptian) brothers; Ethiopia built the dam to prosper, to electrify the entire region and to change the history of black people,” he said. “It is absolutely not to harm its brothers.”

Abiy added that the project will electrify Ethiopia and boost regional power exports, while also expanding electricity access for millions who lacked power as recently as 2022.

Ethiopia maintains that the dam, which has flooded an area larger than Greater London, will stabilize water flow, reduce droughts and floods, and drive development for the region.

Egypt, however, has called the project an existential threat. 

The country’s Foreign Ministry wrote to the UN Security Council, arguing that the inauguration violates international law and warning that Cairo reserves the right to take measures to protect its water security.

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