GRAND ETHIOPIAN RENAISSANCE DAM (GERD)

Current Context: Ethiopia inaugurated the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) — Africa’s largest hydroelectric dam, despite Egypt protesting at the UN citing water security threats.

ABOUT GERD

• Location: Blue Nile River, near Guba in Ethiopia (~30 km from Sudan)
• Started: 2011 by Ethiopia
• Purpose: Power generation, national development, regional energy trade
• Height: ~170 m
• Length: ~2 km
• Reservoir Capacity: 74 billion cubic metres
• Flooded Area: ~1,874 km²
• Power Capacity: 5,150–6,450 MW (largest in Africa)
• Designed to trap ~100 years’ worth of sediment inflow

 ABOUT BLUE NILE RIVER

• Known as Abay River in Ethiopia
• Length: ~1,460 km
• Origin: Lake Tana (Ethiopian Highlands, ~1,800 m elevation)
• Flows through Ethiopia → Sudan → joins White Nile at Khartoum
• Provides ~70–85% of Nile’s total flow
• Major tributaries: Dinder River, Rahad River