Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia are expected to discuss the impact of the
Renaissance Dam Project by the end of this month, reports Doaa El-Bey
13-08-2013 10:33PM ET
"Life in Egypt depends on the Nile. It is difficult to accept a dam that
could reduce the amount of Nile water reaching Egypt," says Ali, a
carpenter.
Tessema, an Ethiopian, has different priorities. In a comment on the
Internet he wrote that "by 2050 Ethiopia's population is estimated to reach
225 million... we need electricity."
Egypt has enjoyed historic rights over water from the Nile courtesy of
colonial era treaties and a 1959 agreement which fixed Egypt's quota at 55.5
billion cubic metres of water and Sudan's at 18.5 billion. Ethiopia says
these agreements are not binding and wants them reviewed. Addis Ababa
insists on its right to build dams on the Nile to generate electricity and
supply agricultural development projects while Egypt is equally insistent
that, under existing treaties, no developments affecting the river can go
ahead without Cairo's agreement.
The Millennium Dam, a $4.2 billion hydroelectric project to be built on the
Blue Nile, was always going to cause difficulties between Cairo and Addis
Ababa. Egypt fears that it will impact negatively on the 80 per cent of its
total water supply which comes from the Blue Nile while Ethiopia has
repeatedly said the dam will not affect the amount of water reaching Egypt.
A technical report issued by the tripartite committee commissioned to
examine the issue and which included Egyptian, Sudanese, Ethiopian as well
as international experts, found there was insufficient evidence to
substantiate Ethiopia's claims and recommended more studies be conducted on
the impact of the dam as well as on the dangers posed by any malfunction of
the gigantic project. Sudan has warned of the devastation it would suffer in
the event of the dam's collapse.
Mohamed Idriss, Egypt's ambassador to Ethiopia, told Al-Ahram Weekly in a
phone interview that a meeting between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia is now
expected to be held by the end of this month to discuss the recommendations
of the tripartite committee. Though the venue of the meeting has not yet
been fixed it is scheduled to be attended by three countries' ministers of
irrigation and experts from all three states who will review the technical
aspects of the project.
The meeting, initially scheduled for July was subsequently delayed until
early august and then pushed even further back. There are fears that any
further delays will mean that ongoing construction work could impose
unalterable changes on the ground.
"The most important thing," says Idriss, "is that all parties, including
Ethiopia, have declared their commitment to implementing recommendations
made in the tripartite technical committee's report."
"Ethiopia will go on with its plans to build the dam while taking into
account technical studies and future proposed adjustments so as to not
negatively impact either Egypt or Sudan."
The tripartite committee, which started its work in November 2011, issued
its report in June. Ethiopia only agreed to establish the committee after an
Egyptian popular delegation visited Addis Ababa in May 2011. The delegation
managed to convince the then Ethiopian prime minister Meles Zinawi to
postpone ratifying the Entebbe agreement - signed by all Nile Basin states
except Egypt, Sudan and Congo - for a year to allow a committee to study the
dam's impact.
In a press conference shortly after his appointment as foreign minister last
month Nabil Fahmi expressed concern that the planned meeting to discuss the
impact of the Renaissance Dam had not yet been held. He called on Addis
Ababa to facilitate the meeting as soon as possible, noting that losing yet
more time was in no one's interest. A day later he underlined the importance
of holding the technical meeting to discuss the impacts of the dam to his
Ethiopian counterpart Tedros Adhanom.
Egypt's newly appointed Irrigation Minister Mohamed Abdel-Moteleb
subsequently met Ethiopian ambassador to Egypt Mahmoud Dirir to discuss
preparations for the meeting.
In June, Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia agreed to start negotiations on the
recommendations made by the international tripartite technical committee.
The agreement came after former foreign minister Mohamed Kamel Amr paid a
visit to Ethiopia and Sudan to discuss the issue. Meanwhile, Ethiopia's
foreign minister was expected to visit Egypt early July but the visit was
cancelled owing to domestic turmoil in Egypt. Idriss says the visit is still
on the agenda of both ministers but will take place when the internal
situation in Egypt is "more suitable".
A delegation of senior Egyptian diplomats, including Africa expert Mona
Omar, has already travelled to a number of African states, starting with
Ethiopia, in an attempt to improve Egypt's image following the overthrow of
Mohamed Morsi.
Construction on the Millennium Dam began in May 2011 after upstream states,
with the exception of Congo, signed the Entebbe Agreement.
The Entebbe Agreement is supposed to replace the 1959 treaty which enshrines
Egypt and Sudan's lion's share of Nile water and the right to veto any
projects built along the river. Cairo and Khartoum have refused to sign the
agreement. Southern Sudan signed in April.