Date: Sun, 14 Feb 2016 23:19:34 +0100
Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan have declined to sign the contract presented by the French companies assigned to conduct studies on the impact of the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the upstream countries of the Nile River.
The technical committee of the three countries failed to agree on the contract presented by the two consultancy firms after a five days meeting ended on Thursday night in Khartoum.
The three countries said in a brief joint statement that they had discussed the technical proposals, including the financial obligations.
The statement added that the three countries agreed to meet again to finalise the agreement and sign the contract.
The proposal
Meanwhile, the Sudanese Electricity and Water Resources minister, Mr Mutaz Musa, told the Africa Review after the meeting that the three states agreed to seek more consultations.
He explained that the Khartoum meeting had discussed the proposal by the French companies and each country now needed to discuss the details alone.
''The three countries need to conduct more consultations from within then the contract will be ready to be signed,'' he said.
Water quota
The ministers from Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia met in Khartoum to examine the joint technical proposal submitted by the French Artelia and BRL companies.
The Egyptian Irrigation minister, Mr Husam Moghazi, had earlier indicated that the meeting was crucial, adding that the studies on the Nile should be completed this year.
The three countries have agreed to conduct two additional studies: the first one on the effects on the water quota for Sudan and Egypt and the second on environmental, economic and social impacts of the dam on Sudan and Egypt.