Ethiopia inaugurates Africa’s biggest dam despite Egypt’s protest

Ethiopia on Tuesday officially inaugurated the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), Africa’s largest hydroelectric project, despite years of fierce opposition from Egypt, which sees the megastructure as a potential threat to its survival.

The $5 billion dam, built on the Blue Nile since 2011, is central to Addis Ababa’s ambition to fuel economic development and provide electricity to millions of its 120 million citizens. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said Ethiopia will use the energy to expand access at home and export surplus power to the region.

“The Renaissance Dam is not a threat, but a shared opportunity,” Abiy told parliament in July. “The energy and development it will generate stand to uplift not just Ethiopia.”

Two turbines are already producing 750 megawatts, with output expected to rise to 5,150 MW at full capacity. Independent research indicates that so far, no major disruptions to Nile flows have been recorded, thanks to phased filling of the reservoir during wet seasons.

Egypt, however, has bitterly opposed the dam from the start, citing colonial-era water treaties. With 108 million people relying on the Nile for 90% of its freshwater, Cairo argues the GERD poses an “existential threat.” Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tamim Khallaf said on Monday that Cairo would “exercise its right to take all the appropriate measures to defend and protect the interests of the Egyptian people.”

Former U.S. President Donald Trump once warned it was a “dangerous situation” and even suggested Cairo could end up “blowing up that dam,” but Washington failed to broker a binding deal. Sudan, while demanding legal guarantees on filling and operation, has also noted potential benefits in flood control and cheap electricity.

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For Ethiopia, the GERD has become a rare source of unity in a country fractured by ethnic conflict. “The idea that Ethiopia should be able to build a dam on its own territory… and shouldn’t be pushed around by Egypt is broadly something that most Ethiopians would get behind,” said Magnus Taylor of the International Crisis Group.

Financed almost entirely from domestic resources, including bond sales and central bank funds, the dam symbolises Ethiopia’s determination to chart its own course. Yet, with only half of rural Ethiopians connected to the grid, the full promise of the project may take years to reach its intended beneficiaries.