Day after day, it is confirmed that Sudan was from the start, close to the works of designs and construction of the Renaissance Dam, which Ethiopia is building 20 km from its eastern borders, so that "it can secure the risks and prepare to reap the benefits," says a member of a technical committee that was working in this framework for Al Jazeera Net.
Six years ago, Sudanese committees ran their work out of the spotlight in silence, to find out all aspects related to the Renaissance Dam. She visited the site of the dam construction repeatedly and provided advice after advice.
Even after the fall of Omar al-Bashir’s regime, the work of these technical committees continued, but what is new now is that they began to break their silence on the pretext that their members were forbidden to speak, in light of the negotiations between Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt.
So does the calm with which Sudan manages the Renaissance Dam file seem justified compared to the state of agitation in Egypt, not because Khartoum plays the mediating role between Cairo and Addis Ababa, but because it is a beneficial party, as observers see?
Operating risks
Finally, Sudan seemed preoccupied with the risks to the safety of the Roseires Dam within its borders, about 120 km from the Renaissance Dam, if no agreement was reached on the filling and operation of the Ethiopian Dam.
A member of the National Subcommittee on Hydrology - Hydrology - of the Renaissance Dam, Babiker Abrasi, said that what was most important to their committee was the operation of the dam because it is close to the Roseires Dam, which requires information to arrive from Ethiopia quickly to act in relation to the operation of the Roseires Dam.
Abrasi notes in an interview with Al-Jazeera Net that their technical committee made an amendment to the body of the dam, which was that it was designed on one slot to pass the conduct of the Sudan from the water, so the committee requested a precaution to add a second slot to avoid any malfunction that could affect the first slot.
He adds that the Sudanese government formed six technical committees six years ago regarding the Renaissance Dam and asked them to work in secrecy away from politics, because Khartoum was in a state of negotiation, but now the situation has become known and we must talk.
Sudanese amendments
According to the member of the National Sub-Committee for the Safety of the Renaissance Dam, Ahmed Al-Sharif, Sudan strongly pushed Ethiopia and after extensive deliberations to introduce major amendments to the body of the concrete and aggregate dam and implemented despite its cost, which amounted to about one billion dollars.
Al-Sharif explains that the Renaissance Dam consists of the main dam on the foundation granite rocks that are coherent, homogeneous and suitable for loads without any problems, as well as the Al-Suruji Dam, 2.5 kilometers south of the main dam.
He adds that the Al-Suruji dam site has residual soil formations and its most important problems were to control the leakage, so the designer chose a cumulative dam with an asphalt facade for economic reasons, but Sudan, after intense deliberations, pushed strongly to replace the concrete facade with the asphaltic facade, as the concrete is more durable compared to the asphalt which is affected by weather factors.
To control the leakage, Sudan also requested the use of the plastic concrete wall in all the remaining soil formations, about 4.5 km, to ensure the leakage of the leakage pores, which increased the cost in exchange for a cumulus dam with a more efficient concrete interface in preventing leakage, as well as in the body and foundation of the dam.
He confirms that Sudan and its technicians recommended adding devices for monitoring and follow-up systems in the Renaissance Dam to measure distortions, the inclination of the dam's body and water pressure in the rocks.
Legal concerns
Sudan seems reassured about the safety and security of the Renaissance Dam in the design and construction phase. According to Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Yasser Abbas to reporters last month, the benefits of the dam to Sudan are greater than its faults, provided an agreement is reached before the first filling expected this month.
However, international law expert Ahmed Al-Mufti does not seem as reassuring as the minister and a number of specialized experts, as he believes that the Renaissance Dam threatens the Sudanese with drowning and thirst at the same time.
The Mufti says that the Sudanese, with all their political forces and civil organizations, should reject any agreement between the three countries that does not stipulate ensuring the safety of the dam, water security and compensation for damages.
It is mentioned that Ethiopia can be left to start with the first filling and all that relates to it and then the annual employment with its individual will and dealing with that as an illegal work, which makes it discover that unilateral action will not achieve its aspirations unless it gains legitimacy from Sudan and Egypt.
The fruits of the dam
On the other hand, Abrasi lists the benefits of the Renaissance Dam, the most important of which is that Sudan will finally be able to fully exploit its share in the Nile waters of 18 billion and 500 million cubic meters.
About six billion cubic meters of Sudan’s share goes to Egypt for free due to its storage constraints, but after the Renaissance Dam, the remainder of its share can be stored for use in the dry season, according to the same source.
According to Yarsi, after the completion of the Ethiopian dam, Sudan will be able to grow three seasons instead of the winter and summer seasons, as well as increase the electricity generated in all of Sudan's dams.
He adds that the Nile flood threat that the Sudanese have long threatened will end after the completion of the Renaissance Dam, because it will control about 700 - 800 million cubic meters, representing the daily revenue of the Blue Nile in the flood season, to drop to about 200 million cubic meters per day.
An agricultural revolution
and the optimism of the Sudanese is increasing with the Renaissance Dam to the extent that led the journalist Mohamed Latif to infer a talk to the Egyptian scientist Farouk El-Baz, in which he said, "The Renaissance Dam for Sudan is a high dam for Egypt."
In exchange for about 100 thousand acres of cliffs on the Nile, silt will be lost after the completion of the dam, according to Epresi. Pumping water at the beaches. "
Ethiopia began building the Renaissance Dam in 2011 with a storage capacity of 74 billion cubic meters to generate 6,000 megawatts of electricity.