The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), being built along River Nile, will be completed in 2022, GERD Project Manager, Kifle Horo (Eng.) said.
The construction of the dam was launched in April 2011, was initially expected to be completed in 2017.
The project manager made the remark during a meeting held in Addis Ababa on the progress of the GERD project.
However, the construction has delayed due to change in design, which led to the increasing of its generation capacity and delay in the electromechanical works.
Saying that the construction work is being underway without interruption, the 4.8 million USD dam will need additional four years to be completed.
The project manager said that the delay in the hydro-electrical work has also impacted the time where the early generation work started. It will start after two years.
The dam being built in Benishangul-Gumuz Region of Ethiopia, about 15 km east of the border with Sudan, has so far consumed about 98 billion Birr.
At 6,450 megawatt, the dam will be the largest hydroelectric power plant in Africa as well as the 7th largest in the world, when completed. (ENA)