Context: Formerly known as the Millennium Dam, is under construction in the Benishangul-Gumuz region of Ethiopia, on the Blue Nile River, which is located about 40km east of Sudan.

About the Dam:

• The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam(GERD) which was formerly known as the Millennium Dam is located in Ethiopia, on the Blue Nile River about 40km east of Sudan.
• The dam will be the largest hydroelectric power plant in Africa when completed as well as the seventh largest in the world.

Significance of the dam for Ethiopia

• Ethiopia, Africa’s second-most populated country and a manufacturing hub, views the mega dam as a symbol of its sovereignty. 
• Bridges Infrastructure Gap: Ethiopia has an acute shortage of electricity, with 60% of its population not connected to the grid.
• Export Potential: The energy generated will be enough to have its citizens connected and sell the surplus power to neighbouring countries.
• Economic Resurgence: There is an element of national pride in the timely completion of the GERD, as Ethiopia’s recent economic resurgence has revived the old vision of Great Ethiopia. 

Concerns Raised by Egypt

• Egypt fears the project will allow Ethiopia to control the flow of Africa’s longest river
• Hydroelectric power stations do not consume water, but the speed with which Ethiopia fills up the dam’s reservoir will affect the flow downstream.
• The longer it takes to fill the reservoir, the less impact there will be on the level of the river.
• Heart of the dispute: Ethiopia wants to fill the reservoir in 6 years whereas Egypt wants to fill the reservoir, between 10 and 21 years, and for the release of a minimum of 40 billion cubic metres annually. 
• Egypt, which relies on the Nile for 90% of its freshwater supply, is apprehensive that a rapid filling of the reservoir in upstream Ethiopia would cause a drastic reduction in supplies.
• Egypt perceives that the project would lead to diversion of waters to its own High Aswan Dam.

About Nile River

• The Nile River flows from south to north through eastern Africa.It begins in the rivers that flow into Lake Victoria and empties into the Mediterranean Sea.
• The river runs through countries namely Egypt, Burundi, Tanzania, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Uganda, Sudan, Ethiopia, and South Sudan. 
• Its three main tributaries are the White Nile, the Blue Nile, and the Atbara.