Ethiopia has reassured the continent that its mega dam on the Nile will serve the wider region and not just its own citizens.
According to Addis, the project is built to power development across Africa, even as Egypt and Sudan continue to voice deep-seated concerns over its impact on the Nile’s waters.
Addressing the press Wednesday in Nairobi ahead of the dam’s inauguration on September 9, Deputy Head of Mission Demeke Ambulo dismissed the concerns, describing the Renaissance Dam as a Pan-African asset that will bring shared progress and prosperity.
“This is our everlasting Ethiopian towering monument built by the sweat and blood of Ethiopians. But it is also for riparian countries and Africa at large,” he said.
The launch will coincide with the Second African Climate Summit in Addis Ababa, scheduled for September 8-10, where renewable energy and climate resilience are high on the agenda.
Over 45 heads of state and government will grace the event.
Perched on the Blue Nile in Ethiopia’s Benishangul-Gumuz region, the GERD has an installed capacity of 5,150 megawatts, making it the largest hydroelectric plant in Africa once fully commissioned.
Officials say the dam will generate nearly 15,700 gigawatt-hours annually, dramatically expanding Ethiopia’s power supply.
For a nation of 120 million where nearly 65 per cent of the population still lacks reliable electricity, the project is viewed as a lifeline.
Ambulo stressed that the GERD represents a leap forward in the fight against poverty, saying it will light up millions of homes, power agriculture and industries, and transform livelihoods.
With Ethiopia’s population projected to nearly double by 2050, the urgency of expanding access to affordable energy has been cast as a matter of both economic stability and national survival.
Beyond its national significance, Ethiopia views the GERD as a project that can knit East Africa together through shared power grids.
It already exports electricity to Kenya, Sudan, and Djibouti, and plans are underway to extend supply to Tanzania and South Sudan.
By stabilising energy access, officials argue, the dam will reduce reliance on costly fossil fuels, stimulate cross-border trade, and promote regional integration.
“This is more than an Ethiopian project. It embodies Pan-Africanism, sharing resources for collective progress,” Ambulo told journalists.
Analysts note that access to affordable electricity is one of the biggest obstacles to economic growth in East Africa.
With the GERD feeding surplus power into regional grids, economies could benefit from lower production costs, more resilient supply chains, and new opportunities for industrialisation.
But while Ethiopia presents the GERD as a symbol of progress, Egypt and Sudan continue to raise strong objections.
Egypt, which relies on the Nile for more than 90 per cent of its freshwater, argues that any reduction in the river’s flow would endanger agriculture, food security, and the survival of its population.
Its stance rests on the 1929 Anglo-Egyptian Treaty and the 1959 Nile Waters Agreement with Sudan, accords that granted them near-total control over the river’s waters while excluding upstream nations like Ethiopia.
Sudan, though more open to cooperation, has raised concerns about dam safety and management protocols, insisting that Ethiopia must commit to binding agreements on how and when water is released.
Addis Ababa rejects claims that the GERD threatens downstream countries, insisting instead that the project will regulate river flow, prevent flooding, reduce sedimentation, and minimise evaporation losses, benefits, it argues, that extend to both Egypt and Sudan.
“Contrary to the fears spread by some, the GERD is a win-win. It enhances stability downstream while giving Ethiopia the right to use its resources,” Ambulo said.
Ethiopia has pointed to the findings of an International Panel of Experts that reviewed more than 150 design documents and endorsed the dam’s potential benefits.
In 2015, Ethiopia, Sudan, and Egypt signed the Declaration of Principles committing to equitable use and cooperation.
Addis Ababa has since shared operational data with Khartoum, though Cairo has resisted similar arrangements, accusing Ethiopia of acting unilaterally.
Ethiopian diplomats, in turn, accuse Egypt of clinging to outdated notions of “historic rights” that ignore the needs of other Nile Basin states.
International law, Ethiopia argues, is on its side.
The United Nations Watercourses Convention recognises the principle of equitable and reasonable utilisation of shared resources, which Addis Ababa insists underpins its approach to the GERD.
Independent studies suggest that rather than depleting Nile flows, the dam could help stabilise them by ensuring more consistent water levels, reducing flood risks, and buffering against droughts.
For Ethiopian officials, this evidence reinforces their position that cooperation, not confrontation, should define the Nile’s future.
“The dam is not built to harm but to uplift the entire basin,” Ambulo maintained.
The GERD is also steeped in national pride.
He said, unlike many large infrastructure projects across Africa, it was financed without foreign loans, relying instead on government bonds and citizen contributions both at home and in the diaspora.
Teachers, farmers, civil servants, and businesspeople all dug into their pockets to contribute, underscoring its image as a people’s project.
“This project belongs to Ethiopians everywhere,” Ambulo said.
"Every citizen has a stake in it.”
While Ethiopia maintains that a final binding agreement with Egypt and Sudan is not necessary for the dam’s operation, it acknowledges that dialogue remains important to avoid tensions.
The Cooperative Framework Agreement, which came into force in 2024, is seen by Addis Ababa as the long-term mechanism to ensure fairness and cooperation among Nile Basin countries.
It hopes that, with the dam’s inauguration, attention will shift from disputes toward the opportunities it creates for shared prosperity.
For Ethiopia, the upcoming ceremony is not merely about switching on turbines but about redefining regional relations.
By anchoring energy security at home and exporting power abroad, the GERD is meant to transform East Africa’s development trajectory.
The government insists the project will be remembered less as a point of contention and more as a symbol of cooperation.
As Ambulo put it, “The GERD will stand not only as Ethiopia’s towering monument, but as Africa’s beacon,of resilience, integration, and shared progress.”
