Africa has inherited arbitrary boundaries delineating countries from the colonial era, and even water supplies! This is the case for the Nile River, the world’s longest river, which flows through several countries in North and East Africa, including Egypt, Sudan, South Sudan, and Ethiopia. Nobody presents the Nile River anymore, as it is a River which has been part of this planet’s history since time immemorial with its critical place in one of the greatest civilizations of the world, that of Ancient Egypt and its pharaohs, and in the Bible, the most read book in the world.

Yesterday marked the inauguration and official opening of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). This is Africa’s largest hydro-electric dam, measuring 1.8 km (1.1 miles) wide and 145 m (0.1 mile) tall, and is located on the Blue Nile in Western Ethiopia near the border with Sudan. It is expected to generate 5,100 MW of power, and more than double Ethiopia’s current capacity. It is designed to supply power to Ethiopia, but also to neighboring countries. 

The dam’s location on a Nile tributary has sparked tensions between Ethiopia and Egypt, which relies heavily on Nile waters. The Nile River has long been governed by a series of historical treaties, many of which were shaped during colonial times and have sparked ongoing disputes—especially between Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia. The 1929 Anglo-Egyptian Treaty gave Egypt veto power over upstream projects, and allocated the majority of the Nile waters to Egypt and Sudan, excluding upstream countries like Ethiopia. Later, the 1959 Nile Waters agreement between Egypt and Sudan divided the Nile’s flow between Egypt and Sudan, not including Ethiopia and other upstream nations in the deal. This last deal remains the primary legal framework used by Egypt to assert its water rights! Picture this? A river flows through your country and others, and the others share the river’s flow among themselves and forget you in the equation, like you did not exist, or like the river never flowed through your country, and was also a source of existence for your people. What the …? Such injustice!

No wonder there are issues! Egypt relies on the Nile for over 90% of its freshwater. Any disruption in the flow could threaten agriculture, drinking water, and industry. Egypt fears that the GERD would reduce water availability, especially during droughts. It has since then reduced the area cultivated for certain crops like rice which are water greedy.

Ethiopia feels that it has the right to use its own water resources, and rightfully so. Ethiopia today is a growing nation, and one of Africa’s strongest economies. The GERD is seen as a great symbol of national unity. It is a national development project, which will double Ethiopia’s electricity output, provide power to millions, and boost regional exports.

For Ethiopians, the GERD is seen as a victory: victory against all preconceived ideas that they could not seat at the table, or even design such amazing engineering feats. Because of the tensions, Egypt (which has always been the partners of all these foreign colonial powers in the region) had lobbied the world bank and other world funding organizations against financing the dam; thus the dam has been almost entirely domestically funded through bonds and donations. The GERD has also united citizens across ethnic and political divides.

After 14 years of continuous work, the GERD was officially launched by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed who called it “the greatest achievement in the history of the Black race.” I would not go as far, but I agree that this is a great historical achievement indeed!

To learn more, check out articles in BBC, Al-Jazeera, The Conversation, and many others.