Ethiopian Dam Gets a Boost, Project Progress as Planned Say Authorities

Military leaders in  charge of Task Force in Metekel say the security situation in the region will never be a threat to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam 

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (photo: EBC)

Borkena

January 31, 2021 

Ethiopia’s Water, Irrigation and Energy Minister, Seleshi Bekele, visited the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) project site over the weekend. 

His visit to the project, along with authorities from the Ethiopian Electric Power Board, was to have a meeting with contractors at the site. 

Based on a report from state media, Ethiopian News Agency, the minister said that the project is going as intended and within the planned time frame.  After project delay due to what Abiy Ahmed’s government was project mismanagement under the TPLF administration, a new plan was introduced with his leadership. 

The first phase of the dam was filled in July 2020 to retain 4.8 billion meter cubic water. The second phase of the filling whose goal is to retain about 18 billion cubic meters of water in the reservoir of the dam is expected to take place during the heavy rain season of July and August of this year. 

Mr. Seleshi and Board members of Ethiopian electric power had a meeting on Saturday with contractors and advisers to the mega project which has consumed over $4billion so far. 

The finding, according to the Minister, is that project execution is as planned.  He is also cited as saying that robust financial support to the project from Ethiopians in the country and abroad is continuing. 

Following this visit to the project, Mr. Selashi Bekele twitted : 

“We had on site coordination meeting of contractors, consultants, board & employer. #GERD construction progresses as scheduled. Support of Ethiopians for GERD at home & abroad is at its climax! We shall deliver this clean energy for prosperity of #Ethiopia & Africa! @AbiyAhmedAli” 

The Government announced sometime last week that nearly 1 billion Ethiopian birr was raised from across the country in less than six months. 

The Ethiopian government has established a national body to coordinate support for the project – “National Council for the Coordination of Public Participation to the Construction of GERD.”  And it is an opposition leader who is leading the organization as Director General, Dr. Aregawi Berhe who is leader of Tigray Democratic Party. 

The Council this week launched a nationwide tour to garner further financial support for the project. 

Meanwhile, Military leaders in  charge of Task Force in Metekel, due to the recurrent massacre of ethnic Amhara and ethnic Agaw, say the security situation in the region will never be a threat to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

An armed group that is said be behind the massacres is believed to be supported by external forces (unnamed) with an hostility towards Ethiopian Dam. Let. General Asrat Deniyero visited the project site, as reported by Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation, on Sunday. He do not seem to see a security threat to the project.