Ethiopia Says Completes Third Filling of Nile Mega-Dam

In this file photo taken on February 20, 2022, a general view of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in Guba, Ethiopia. (AFP)
In this file photo taken on February 20, 2022, a general view of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in Guba, Ethiopia. (AFP)
TT
20

Ethiopia Says Completes Third Filling of Nile Mega-Dam

In this file photo taken on February 20, 2022, a general view of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in Guba, Ethiopia. (AFP)
In this file photo taken on February 20, 2022, a general view of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in Guba, Ethiopia. (AFP)

Ethiopia announced Friday it has completed the third filling of its mega-dam on the Blue Nile, a new milestone that could raise further tensions with downstream neighbors Egypt and Sudan.

The development comes a day after Ethiopia said it had launched electricity production from the second turbine at the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in the northwest of the country.

"Today as you see behind me, the third filling is complete," Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said from the dam site in images broadcast on state television.

"The Nile is a gift of God given to us for Ethiopians to make use of it."

The massive $4.2 billion dam, set to be the largest hydro-electric scheme in Africa, has been at the center of a regional dispute ever since Ethiopia broke ground on the project in 2011.

There is still no agreement between Ethiopia and its downstream neighbors Egypt and Sudan about the GERD's operations despite talks held under the auspices of the African Union.

Cairo and Khartoum view it as a threat because of their dependence on Nile waters.

But Ethiopia deems it essential for the electrification and development of Africa's second most populous nation.

It was one of Africa's fastest growing economies in recent years until war broke out in northern Ethiopia in November 2020 between federal government forces and Tigrayan rebels.

'Gifted nations'

There was no immediate reaction from Egypt or Sudan about Friday's development.

But Egypt, an arid nation which relies on the Nile for about 97 percent of its irrigation and drinking water, last month protested to the UN Security Council that the third filling was under way.

Abiy nevertheless sought to reassure Egypt and Sudan over the impact of dam.

"When we set out to build a dam on the Nile, we said from the beginning that we did not want to make the river our own," he said on Twitter.

"We hope that just like Ethiopia, the other gifted nations of the Nile, Sudan and Egypt, will get to utilize their share."

On Thursday, he had called for negotiations to reach an understanding on the dam but insisted the third filling was not causing any water shortages downstream.

The process of filling the GERD's vast reservoir began in 2020 and it now contains 22 billion cubic meters of water out of a total capacity of 74 billion.

"Compared to last year, we have reached 600 meters which is 25 meters higher than the previous filling," Abiy said Friday.

Almost complete

Ethiopia first began generating electricity from the GERD in February. Currently, the two operational turbines, out of a total of 13, have a capacity to generate 750 megawatts of electricity.

It is ultimately expected to produce more than 5,000 megawatts, more than doubling Ethiopia's current output.

Project manager Kifle Horo said Thursday that overall the dam was now more than 83 percent complete and that the goal was for it to be finished in the next two and a half years.

The structure is 145-metres (475 feet) high and 1.8 kilometers long, straddling the Nile tributary in the Benishangul-Gumuz region of northwestern Ethiopia, not far from the border with Sudan.

The project was initiated under former prime minister Meles Zenawi, the Tigrayan leader who ruled Ethiopia for more than two decades until his death in 2012.



Lebanon Ready for Syria Pact to Repatriate Non-Terror Convicts

Lebanon’s Justice Minister Adel Nassar (NNA)
Lebanon’s Justice Minister Adel Nassar (NNA)
TT
20

Lebanon Ready for Syria Pact to Repatriate Non-Terror Convicts

Lebanon’s Justice Minister Adel Nassar (NNA)
Lebanon’s Justice Minister Adel Nassar (NNA)

Lebanon’s Justice Minister Adel Nassar said Beirut had received no warnings from Damascus about potential retaliatory measures to push for the release of Syrian detainees held in Lebanese prisons, dismissing any talk of escalation as unnecessary.

“There’s no need for escalation. We’re fully open to resolving this issue through direct dialogue and a formal treaty with the Syrian authorities, one that allows the transfer of Syrian convicts, except those sentenced for killing Lebanese soldiers or for terrorism charges,” Nassar told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Nassar revealed that his ministry had already prepared a draft agreement aimed at moving the stalled file forward, stressing that resolving the issue is in Lebanon’s interest as much as Syria’s.

“This would ease the severe overcrowding in our prisons,” he said. “We’re determined to take every step in full compliance with Lebanese law and judicial procedures.”

According to Nassar, some 1,700 Syrians are currently detained in Lebanon, including 389 with final verdicts. The rest are still on trial.

“Their treatment is identical to that of Lebanese inmates,” he added. “We’re holding court sessions directly at Roumieh prison to address logistical constraints, and there’s also an intention to do the same for the military court.”

Addressing the recent Cabinet appointment of Maher Shaito as financial public prosecutor, a move widely seen as a win for the minister after rejecting a nominee backed by the Hezbollah-Amal alliance, Nassar insisted the process was purely institutional.

“This was a victory for state institutions. I can’t nominate someone I don’t believe is qualified,” he said. “After consulting senior judges and the head of the Higher Judicial Council, it was clear there was consensus around Shaito due to his credentials and track record.”

He stressed that the appointment involved “no deals or political bartering,” adding that while he found Judge Ziad Hamadeh unsuitable for that specific post, “I never said he was unfit for another position.”

Nassar described his meeting Saturday with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri as “positive,” saying Berri expressed support for the minister’s efforts under the principle of judicial independence.

On long-awaited judicial appointments, Nassar said the Judicial Council was working “around the clock” and had promised to complete the file by the end of the month. “Some 600 names are currently under consideration,” he noted.

As Lebanon approaches the fifth anniversary of the 2020 Beirut port explosion, Nassar said he would not interfere with the timeline of investigative judge Tarek Bitar, who is handling the politically sensitive case.

“Judge Bitar is continuing his probe, and I’m offering full cooperation within the limits of my authority, especially when it comes to securing information from abroad,” he said. “We won’t allow any obstruction of his work.”

Nassar said the timing of the indictment “depends on whether he receives the answers to all his questions,” adding: “There’s no legal deadline obliging him to issue a ruling by a specific date.”

Responding to reports that he and other ministers had objected to certain appointments during the last Cabinet session, Nassar confirmed his opposition to the newly named Banking Control Commission, saying ministers had not been briefed beforehand.

He also voiced strong objection to linking the disarmament of Hezbollah to any other file.

“I told Cabinet and President Joseph Aoun that the issue of arms must not be conditional. I believe in the exclusive right of the state to bear arms - there can be no functioning state otherwise,” he said.

Nassar added that Aoun had promised to refer any final document related to the ongoing US-mediated talks on the weapons issue back to the Cabinet for discussion.