http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/100183/Egypt/Politics-/Egyptian-satellite-to-monitor-construction-of-Ethi.aspx
Egyptian satellite to monitor construction of Ethiopia's disputed dam
Officials in Cairo hope that the satellite's findings will strengthen their
position in the debate over Ethiopia's projected hydroelectric dam
Ahram Online , Wednesday 30 Apr 2014
A new Egyptian satellite will track the construction of an Ethiopian
hydroelectric dam over which officials in Cairo and Addis Ababa have been
locked in a standoff over fears that the project will hinder Egypt's access
to the Nile's water.
Launched almost two weeks ago, Egysat will monitor Ethiopia's Grand
Renaissance Dam by capturing high quality photos of the construction site
along with other sources of the Nile, said Alaa El-din El-Nahry, vice
president of Egypt's National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space
Sciences.
The LE300 million satellite - which will come into operation in mid-June
after a two-month test period - will track the dam's height, storage
capacity and water discharge. It will also monitor the Kongo River basin to
assess the effectiveness of a proposed project to link the Kongo and Nile
rivers.
Egypt's government believes the satellite's findings will bolster its
negotiations with Ethiopia and provide legal ground in case it must resort
to international arbitration over any violations in the dam's stated
purpose of electricity generation, El-Nahry said during a seminar in Cairo,
according to Al-Ahram's daily Arabic newspaper.
Egypt has been particularly concerned that the dam, now more than 30
percent finished, will hugely impact its share of the Nile, the country's
main source of potable water.
Situated near the Sudanese border on the Blue Nile, a Nile tributary, the
hydroelectric dam will be the biggest in Africa, capable of producing 6,000
megawatts of energy.
Last week, Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn urged Egypt to
return to the tripartite discussions with Ethiopia and Sudan in an effort
to settle the dispute. The three countries have been engaged in a series of
dialogues since the launch of the project three years ago.
Last year, Ethiopia and five other Nile-basin countries - Rwanda, Tanzania,
Uganda, Kenya and Burundi - endorsed an accord, the Co-operative Framework
Agreement, which replaces a 1929 treaty granting Egypt veto power over any
project on the Nile in upstream countries.
Sudan, Egypt's immediate downstream country, has backed Ethiopia's plans to
build the dam.
Received on Thu May 01 2014 - 08:51:21 EDT