Elbais: The conflict is raging around the Renaissance Dam ... Sudan and Egypt in one trench against Ethiopia

The Spanish newspaper Elbais said that the battle over the Renaissance Dam that Ethiopia is building over the Nile has become fierce after Sudanese Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdock refused last Tuesday to sign an agreement proposed by the Ethiopian authorities on the first stage of filling the huge reservoir.

"There are legal and technical problems that must be discussed," Hamdouk said in a statement, and indicated that Egypt rejected that proposal, and that the Ethiopian government was going ahead with its intention to start mobilizing the dam within two months.

Ethiopia began building the dam - the largest in Africa - in 2011, with a length of 1.8 km, a height of 155 meters, and a capacity of 64 billion cubic meters, and can generate about six thousand megawatts of electricity.

Egypt says that the interruption of the Nile waterway due to that dam will be a disaster for the agricultural sector, and will cause the loss of about two hundred thousand people whose source of livelihood.

The newspaper indicates that Sudan - the third party in the dispute - hopes to benefit from the electricity supply, but it will also suffer from a decrease in the flow of the Blue Nile water.

To reach a way out of this crisis, the United States and the World Bank launched a negotiation initiative between the three parties in the past months, which resulted in a draft agreement that was to be signed in late February, but Addis Ababa retreated at the last minute.

In recent days, Ethiopia formulated another partial proposal to start filling its dam, Egypt immediately responded by rejecting it, sending a letter of protest to the United Nations Security Council, and Sudan decided to support the Egyptian refusal, according to the newspaper.

"Most of the issues raised cannot be separated, including the long-term environmental and social impacts," the Spanish newspaper quoted Sudanese official responsible for the US-sponsored negotiations, Hamed Saleh, as saying.

For his part, the Sudanese Prime Minister believes that "the only way to reach an agreement is to return immediately to the negotiating table." The Egyptian authorities believe that Ethiopia is implementing the de facto policy, and confirmed that it will not accept the completion of the Renaissance Dam without an agreement.

Elbais describes the Ethiopian project as a "risky gamble", because with more than a hundred million people and in high economic growth, at least until the outbreak of the Corona virus, the country needs new energy sources to meet its demand, but it also aspires to become the main source Electricity in Africa.

She adds that covering the high cost of the dam, which amounts to about four billion euros, was done through loans granted by Chinese companies and through private financing, and the dam has become for the Ethiopians a source of national pride, so that the country's officials have accepted to reduce their wages to contribute to building the dam, which was completed by 73 %.

The newspaper attributes the Ethiopian Prime Minister Abi Ahmed - who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019 - as saying that the dam is a symbol of the progress of Ethiopia and Africa, and we remain committed to the fair and equitable use of the Nile water for a joint economic benefit to Ethiopia and the countries along the banks of the river.

While Ethiopia intends to start paying its investment dues as soon as possible, Egypt fears a serious imbalance in the Blue Nile, which pumps 86% of the water that reaches Egypt, which exacerbates unemployment and poverty, and the issue is also a matter of national pride for Egyptians.

The newspaper concludes that differences over the dam threaten the outbreak of regional conflict, and Ethiopia is trying to co-opt Sudan, whose position is volatile; Because it can benefit not only from the electricity supply, but also from regulating the flow of river water.

In addition, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abi Ahmed played a major role in resolving the Sudanese crisis after the fall of President Omar al-Bashir's regime last year, and his mediation led to the creation of a balanced transitional council between civilians and the military.