Addis Ababa, August 12, 2022 (Walta) – The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam(GERD) will not only power Ethiopia’s economy, but it will also power Africa’s Economic Integration said Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in a speech he made today following the successful completion of the third filling of GERD reservoir today.
“GERD will power not only Ethiopia’s economy but also Africa’s economic integration,” he said.
The dam height is currently 600 meters above sea level. That means its height increased by 25 meters this year.
According to the Prime minister, the increase in the dam height has created the opportunity to produce more power this year.
“GERD reservoir has created about 70 islands that are about 10 hectares wide, on average. It is a blessing we share with the rest of the world,” he said.
Since Abay is a transboundary river, it is a resource that we share with our brothers and sisters in the lower riparian countries added the prime minister.
“Abay is a free gift of God to Ethiopia, Egypt, and Sudan. We will share it accordingly. Had it been given to us alone, it will drain in Ethiopia like Awash River,” said the PM.
The Prime Minister turned on the ninth unit of the GERD yesterday. That means Ethiopia has harnessed 270 megawatts of power from the second turbine that goes operational yesterday.
The dam’s first turbine which started producing electricity on the 20th of February 2022, unit 10, has been delivering 270 Mega Watt of hydropower making the total power generated from GERD so far well over 540 megawatts.
The largest hydroelectric dam in Africa is so far 83.3 percent complete. The civil work is 95 percent completed while the electromechanical work is 61 percent completed.
The dam height has reached 600 meters above sea level while holding back more than 22 billion cubic meters of water in the dam reservoir. The total capacity of the dam’s reservoir is 74 billion cubic meters.
When completed in 2024, the dam will power the African economies with over 6000 megawatts of power.