GRAND ETHIOPIAN RENAISSANCE DAM.

Running Head: GRAND ETHIOPIAN RENAISSANCE DAM 1
Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam
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GRAND ETHIOPIAN RENAISSANCE DAM 2
Details of GERD
Construction financing and costs
According to the government of Ethiopia, the entire cost and financing of the project will be
from the state. Electricity generating turbines that cost approximately 1.8 billion US dollars are
funded by investment banks in China, (Salman, 2016). Leaving the Ethiopian government to
finance the remaining cost amounting to over 3 billion US dollars. These costs are exclusive of
power line costs.
Three spillways
The project will have three outlets. When flooding capacity of the outlets is put together, it will
amount to 38,500m3/s. however, these outlets are put for security reasons as studies have shown
an event that requires that amount of spillage is unlikely to happen. The spillage is directed to
Blue Nile River before it gets to Sudan.
The main outlet is situated to the left of the dam. It has a discharge capacity of 14, 700 m3/s
which is controlled using six floodgates, (Tawfik, 2016). Outlet with no floodgates is located at
the center of the two spillways. It has a width of 673 ft. with a base level located at 2100 ft. this
ungated spillway will be used when the dam reservoir is full and the general water flow is in
excess of 14,700m3/s. according to () this is expected once in a decade.
Power generation

GRAND ETHIOPIAN RENAISSANCE DAM 3
The powerhouses in the dam will be located either side of the ungated spillway. The right-side
powerhouse will consist of a 10*375MW turbine and the left powerhouse will have a 6*375MW
turbine. Recently, the turbines to be installed in the dam have been upgraded to 400MW with no
major changes being done to their nameplate volume.
Other GERD details include; siltation, water evaporation, irrigation activities, two dams, and the
project design
GERD ambiguity
Ethiopia, the owner of GERD has on many occasions held a stand that the project will be of great
benefits to her neighbors, Egypt and Sudan. These benefits are in the form of regular water flow
during the rainy season. From the studies, it is evident that the water supply downstream of the
Nile will be reduced and the inhabitants will have reduced water supply, (Tawfik, 2016).
Chances of dam flooding are next to impossible given the ideas put in place when the spillways
were constructed. Benefits implored by Ethiopia thus refer to the reduction of flooding in the
Nile. The Aswan High Dam, for example, needs constant flooding in the Nile for power
generation, irrigation and fishing is beneficial to the people of Egypt.
Tripartite meeting in Khartoum in 2018 stipulate that only international bodies can lead a
dialogue between the three states that are affected by the construction of the dam, (Gebremeskel
et al, 2017). However, the three states can also have a task force that can lead negotiations that
will lead to the prevention of a crisis. Egypt, of late, has been meeting leaders from Djibouti,
Sudan, and Tanzania to dialogue on their stand of the GERD project.