Ahmed Abdullah-Addis Ababa
A member of the Ethiopian negotiating delegation, Zerihoun Abibi, considered that the issue of completing the Renaissance Dam project is crucial to achieving development in his country, and the international development goals set by the United Nations.
"The completion of the Renaissance Dam project is not only a matter of development, it is our survival," Zerihoun said in comments published by the Ethiopian News Agency.
"The Blue Nile River is the main source of surface water in Ethiopia, producing 112 million cubic meters of water annually," he added.
He pointed out that the Blue Nile Basin, which includes the tributaries of the Nile, Tikizi, Baro and Akobo rivers, represents 72% of the country's annual water volume.
Zerihoun emphasized that "45 to 50 million people depend on the waters of the Blue Nile, so the basin is a matter of presence for the Ethiopians."
It is reported that Ethiopia will start filling the dam - whose construction has exceeded 73% - in the coming rainy season, and once completed it will be the largest hydropower plant in Africa.
By the beginning of April 2021, storage will begin and prevent any water from coming out of the dam until a level is reached at which electricity will be generated from the first low-level turbines.
This will be followed by filling the storage lake by acquiring a flood in 2021, 2022 and 2023 in full, and storing about 30 billion cubic meters of water annually, with approximately 18 billion cubic meters expected to be consumed by Sudan throughout the days of the year, so that the practical result is not to keep water heading to a lake Nasser in front of the High Dam in southern Egypt.