The third filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) was announced to be completed by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Friday.
Since 2011, Ethiopia has been constructing the GERD on the main tributary of the Nile.
The filling comes a day after Abiy announced the operation of the second turbine of the hydroelectric scheme, thus becoming the largest in Africa to date.
Adding the dam would entail a lot of benefits rather, one of which is regulation of the flow of the river Nile and hence prevention of floods,” he said, “Constructing the dam, we have no intention of harming downstream countries.”
The mega project has been a point of controversy between Egypt and Ethiopia since its inception. While Ethiopia says the project is necessary for its national development, Cairo expressed concern that its “historical share” of the Nile’s waters would be reduced.
The dam is capable of holding 70 billion cubic meters (more than 2.4 trillion cubic feet) of water in its reservoir and stands 145 meters tall with a length of 1,800 meters.
Trilateral talks on the dam between Ethiopia, Sudan, and Egypt have remained stalled.
In a demand resisted by Addis Ababa, Egypt and Sudan have demanded Ethiopia sign a “binding and comprehensive” agreement on the filling and operation of the dam.
