Ethiopia’s controversial new dam

Ethiopia will tomorrow inaugurate Africa’s largest dam, a major source of electricity and national zeal for the country, but one that threatens to fray ties with nations downstream. The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Nile River — under construction for 14 years — will provide electricity to almost half of the country’s 120 million people while boosting the government’s ambitious electric vehicle rollout. But Sudan and Egypt, both heavily reliant on the Nile’s waters for irrigation and electricity, have said the dam threatens national security, claims that Addis Ababa has rejected. One expert told the BBC the project reflects changing political tides in the region: “Ethiopia is now projecting power, while Egypt’s fortunes have declined.”

Source: This item first appeared in Flagship, Semafor’s daily global affairs newsletter.
Featured image: Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) – Office of Ethiopia’s Prime Minister by the Office of Ethiopia’s Prime Minister