APA-Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) Ethiopia on Wednesday launched a hydro-power project over the River Nile with around $4.7 billion investment, which is bound to scare Egypt of its interests on the River Nile.

It is the first time that Ethiopia has launched such a huge hydro-power project with such huge amount of investment.

The power plant, expected to generate around 5,250 megawatt, is named the ‘Millennium Dam On the Nile’, which claims to be the first of its kind in Africa that will cover 40 kilometres square over the River Nile.

The Ethiopian Minister of Energy Alemayehu Tegenu told journalist in Addis Ababa that the government was compelled to finance the project alone because Egypt has been engaged in a continuous campaign telling international creditors and donors not to finance Ethiopian projects on the River Nile.

He indicated that Egypt has been campaigning against Ethiopia not to get any international loan for such project. Accordingly, he said the government will finance the project.

Ethiopian officials are saying that this big project will also ultimately benefit both Sudan and Egypt itself. The ‘Millennium Dam on the Nile’, is expected to hold 62 billion cubic metres of water.

“It will be constructed 20 to 40 kilometres east of the Sudanese border and will generate 5,250 megawatt of electricity,” said the officials. The Millennium Dam is scheduled to be completed in 44 months and two of its units will start generating 700 megawatts of electricity at initial stage.

While there has not yet been any official reaction from Egypt over the construction of the dam by Ethiopia, but Egypt has been expressing concern on plans to construct such huge dams over the River Nile, saying it will reduce its share of the Nile water.


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