Gerd dam outlets go operational

TWO bottom outlets (BOs) of Ethiopia’s controversial Gerd dam have gone operational, a senior government official revealed over the weekend.

They are believed to be on a test run after work on them were completed recently.

Minister of Water, Irrigation and Energy Seleshi Bekele on Sunday announced that the BOs that release water to downstream countries along the River Nile have been completed, tested and become operational.

According to Bekele, the two BOs have a capacity of passing the entire annual flow of the Abbay River in a year, providing assurances of water to downstream countries without fear of interruptions.

Seleshi said Gerd removes flood risk in Sudan such as the one that occurred last season, prevents loss of water in flood plains, ensuring that the dam does not harm the environment.

“Gerd is designed smart as filling and construction go in parallel, constructed as a high quality, state of the art modern facility,” Seleshi noted.

The minister further stated that 13 other outlets are under construction with a huge capacity to release water.

In any rainy season the BOs guarantee downstream flow while filling takes place as inflow exceeding outflow at its reservoir.

It is not clear whether these assurances by Addis Ababa will convince Egypt and Sudan who continue to oppose the dam, pointing out that its presence on the Nile constitutes an existential threat to them.

They have maintained that it would compromise their invaluable share of the water from Africa’s longest river.

The government in Addis Ababa however insists that such fears are unfounded and claims instead that the dam constitutes the engine that will power its development in the future.