Kenya says it is open to buying power from Ethiopia’s new Nile dam, even as Nairobi also offered to mediate any differences with neighbours on the use of the river’s waters.
President William Ruto spoke in Ethiopia on Tuesday during the launch of the Grand Ethiopia Renaissance Dam (Gerd), a $5 billion hydropower plant built over the last 13 years amid friction with Egypt.
As a chief guest, Ruto praised the project as a Pan-African achievement, but said concerns of Nile Basin countries on utility of the waters will not be wished away.
“Kenya remains committed to working with Ethiopia, a key regional partner, as it takes this leap towards energy self-sufficiency and economic transformation,” Ruto said.
“We commend the progress achieved so far and urge continued dialogue rooted in compromise, good faith, and adherence to international norms. Kenya stands ready to help bridge gaps and foster lasting consensus.”
Since July 2022, Kenya has had a power purchase agreement with Ethiopia for the transmission of 200 megawatts (mw) of electricity to Kenya under a 25-year agreement. The agreement stipulates that Kenya would receive 200mw during the first three years—until November 2025—after which the supply would automatically increase to 400mw. But that touched on another dam that Ethiopia had built over Omo River, the main tributary for Lake Turkana in Kenya.
The deal was partly reached to prevent environmental tensions that arose after Ethiopia dammed Omo as conservationists saw it would hurt water flows into Lake Turkana.
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in Guba, Ethiopia. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on February 20, 2022 inaugurated electricity production from the mega-dam on the Blue Nile.
Photo credit: Amanuel Sileshi | AFP
The Gerd dam power plant is to produce at least 5,100mw of power, although engineers there say it would rise to 6,000. Yet the dam itself had raised controversy with downstream countries Egypt and Sudan wary of reduced water flows in the Nile.
With Addis Ababa having built the plant, however, it signaled the first success story of raising its own power production that could supply up to 60 percent of the country’s 110 million people and sell the excess.
Yet the small matter of how to manage water flows in the Nile, and the concerns, in general, in the Nile Basin on how future dam projects can be built without causing tensions remain.
In his remarks, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy termed the achievement historic, and expressed joy that he led the country to witness such an exciting moment across the country.
"We have heard history. We have seen history. We have learned history. But today, we were able to become the generation chosen by God to make history and stand upon it to speak. “This lake has brought with it a wealth greater than Ethiopia's GDP. This generation has accomplished a great deed with the Renaissance Dam. The era of begging has ended," Mr Abiy said.
Dr Abiy also announced that Gerd has been named Nigat Lake or Dawn Lake due to its massive scale of hydro production.
The launch in Ethiopia’s Benshangul Gumuz region, on the Blue Nile, saw dozens of foreign leaders in attendance. And partly, that may have given Ethiopia the legitimacy as it saw the dam as useful to everyone in the region.
“The Gerd is not merely a national project. It is a Pan-African statement. It exemplifies the scale and ambition of African-led infrastructure and aligns with the African Union’s vision of continental energy connectivity,” President Ruto said.
Among those in attendance were President Salva Kiir of South Sudan, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of Somalia and Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Amor Mottley, who all lauded the step taken by the Ethiopian government.
The presence of Somalia’s President, especially, was significant because he has maintained tight relations with Egypt and has allowed them to send troops to Somalia as part of the African Union mission. In the past, his country also bickered with Ethiopia after it signed an MoU with Somaliland, a breakaway region that has sought independence in vain.
South Sudan had also been heavily lobbied by Egypt to drain its swamps and raise the water volumes in the Nile. War and pandemic stalled the project.
Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC) Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, and United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa Claver Gatete also attended.
The two countries claim that completing the dam poses a significant threat to the flow of water in the River Nile downstream.
However, Ethiopia maintains that it has the right to implement the project to meet rising electricity demand.
