This archive report was first published on 26 June 2020.
Published on June 26, 2020, Ethiopia has reiterated its intention to start filling the reservoir of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Nile River in July, even without an agreement from Egypt and Sudan.
The $4.6 billion dam, which is over 70% complete, has been a contentious point among the three Nile River Basin countries. The project promises to provide much-needed electricity to Ethiopia's 100 million people.
"We will go ahead with the filling of the dam next month even if there's no agreement reached," Ethiopian Foreign Minister Gedu Andargachew told dpa news agency on Friday.
Egypt, which relies heavily on the Nile for its freshwater supplies, is anxious to secure a legally binding deal that would guarantee minimum flows and a mechanism for resolving disputes before the dam starts operating.
Sudan has also expressed concerns, warning that the lives of millions of people would be endangered if Ethiopia moved ahead with its plan before an agreement was reached.
However, Ethiopia remains undeterred, insisting that the project is indispensable for its development and that downstream countries' water supplies will be unaffected.
"The Egyptians want us to offer a lot, but they are not ready to offer us anything. They want to control everything. We are not discussing a water-sharing agreement," Andargachew said.
