Addis Ababa, October 10 (WIC) -The Nile Tripartite Committee hinted that the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam will have no negative impact to down stream countries; Egypt and Sudan.
The Nile Tripartite Committee, later officially named as ‘International Panel of Experts (IPoE), is composed of six experts drawn from Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan, and four international experts.
The experts committee which officially launched its activities in Addis Ababa, on Tuesday, May 8, 2012 paid visit to the construction site of the dam on 8, October 2012. The visit is aimed at gathering information for researches.
The experts committee, so far in its study has hinted that the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam will have no negative impact on Egypt and Sudan.
The final findings and recommendations on the project will be submitted to the governments of the three countries in five months.
Water and Energy State Minister, Wondimu Tekle, who took part in the discussion, said the meeting shows Ethiopia’s commitment to collaborating with the downstream countries.
The late Ethiopian Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi, proposed the establishment of the Tripartite Committee, as a good will gesture to build trust among riparian countries.
The committee is expected to clear up doubts and come up with a unified stance of the three countries after assessing the impact of the dam. Ethiopia intends to use the dam to become a regional energy exporter.
Ethiopia insists the construction of Africa’s biggest dam won’t have negative effects and says instead benefits down streamers by preventing flooding and an increase in silt.
It also says that the dam reduces evaporation because it is built in a less humid gorge.