Ethiopia is preparing for the third filling of the Renaissance Dam with a "big step"

Ethiopia announced today, Thursday, its intention to remove 17,000 hectares of forests during the month of February, in preparation for the third filling of the lake of the Renaissance Dam that it built on the Blue Nile River.

This step was announced, during a meeting that included the Ethiopian Minister of Irrigation Aisha Mohamed, Gomez El-Shazly Hassan, the governor of Benishangul region, and officials from the Ethiopian federal government, according to "Sky News Arabia".

The meeting was held in the city of Asusa, the capital of the Benishangul Gomez province, in which the Renaissance Dam is located.

The attendees confirmed that preparations are underway to complete what is required for the third phase of deforestation for the third filling process of the Renaissance Dam.

Ethiopian officials said it is likely that deforestation will be completed within 60 days of starting work.

Earlier, the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry said that Addis Ababa will soon start producing energy from the Renaissance Dam, noting that "Sudan is the biggest beneficiary of this event."

The ministry spokesman added that the production of energy from the Renaissance Dam "does not mean stopping the tripartite negotiations between Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan on the outstanding issues around the dam," adding that "downstream countries must adapt to reality."

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