webmaster
© Copyright DEHAI-Eritrea OnLine, 1993-2011
All rights reserved
From: Biniam Tekle (biniamt@dehai.org)
Date: Thu Mar 17 2011 - 12:45:50 EST
http://www.africareview.com/News/Ethiopia+angers+Egypt+over+secret+Nile+dams/-/979180/1128160/-/6d9xq8z/-/
Egypt
furious over secret Ethiopian Nile dams
Ethiopia's Prime Minister Meles Zenawi FILE | AFRICA REVIEW |
By ARGAW ASHINE in Addis Ababa (email the author)
Posted Thursday, March 17 2011 at 20:13
Egyptian authorities are furious over new plans by the Ethiopian Government
to construct three giant hydro power dams on the Blue Nile.
The angry Egyptians plan to send a team to discuss the issue with the
Ethiopia despite the latter’s insistence the plan was not intended to harm
Egypt.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi recently hinted his government planned
to use more of the Nile waters for development activities in the
drought-prone country, which is the second most populous in Africa.
Mr Meles said in the next one month the new hydro-dam projects will be
inaugurated.
The Blue Nile provides over 80 per cent of the Nile waters and its flow is
therefore a matter of life and death for Egypt.
"We are planning to carry out a number of important projects, including a
major project on the Nile," Mr Meles told reporters.
However, the document obtained by *Africa Review* from the Ethiopian
Electric Power Corporation (EEPCO) mentioned unpublicised new dams set for
construction, that will be inaugurated in the Western Ethiopia region of
Benshangul Gumuz, just 40km east from Sudanese border.
Ethiopia plans to generate 6,000MW of electricity from the new dams, whose
construction may take five to 10 years. The document does not mention
specific details.
----[This List to be used for Eritrea Related News Only]----