Egypt’s Deputy Foreign Minister for African Affairs accuses Ethiopia of “buying time” through negotiations while continuing to fill its contentious Nile dam without an agreement.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the minister denounced Ethiopian claims that Cairo had “politicised” the debate over the Nile dam.
The Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam was purposefully built, according to prominent pro-state host Ahmed Moussa, to “hurt” Egypt and Sudan.
Muhammad Nasser, an opposition TV broadcaster, criticised the Egyptian government and media for their lack of action on the matter.
Ethiopia, Sudan, and Egypt have been at odds over the project for years because Sudan and Egypt worry that it will cut down on the amount of water they receive from the River Nile.
Trouble Over The Giant Nile Dam
Ethiopia is currently constructing the Great Renaissance Dam, which, when finished, will be the largest hydroelectric power plant in Africa.
A deadline of January 15 was set last year to settle the protracted standoff, but the most recent round of negotiations came to a standstill.
Its construction started in 2011 on the Blue Nile tributary in the highlands of northern Ethiopia, where 85% of the waters that flow into the Nile originate.
However, the massive project has generated a quarrel between Egypt and Ethiopia, with Sudan caught in the middle, which some worry could lead to war, and the US is now helping to mediate.
Plans to fill the Nile Dam are at the heart of the conflict because Egypt is concerned that Ethiopia will be able to control the flow of Africa’s longest river as a result of the project.
Water is not used in the production of hydroelectric power, but the speed at which Ethiopia fills the dam’s reservoir will have an impact on the flow downstream.
The reservoir’s overall capacity of 74 billion cubic metres makes it larger than Greater London; the longer it takes to fill it, the less impact it will have on the river’s level.
Ethiopia’s Water Minister Seleshi Bekele stated in September 2019, “We have a plan to start filling on the following rainy season, and we will start generating power with two turbines on December 2020.”
However, Egypt suggested a longer time frame in order to prevent a sharp decline in the river level, particularly during the first stage of filling the reservoir.
Three-way talks between Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia over managing the dam and filling its reservoir have made no headway in nearly four years – which the US has now been trying to mediate.