Ethiopia to start third GERD filling by end of summer
Ethiopia will start the third filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in August and September, the dam’s project manager told Al Arabiya Friday (watch, runtime: 11:37). The filling of the dam is an “automatic process” that cannot be stopped, Kifle Horo told the broadcaster.
The dam has long been a source of tension between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan: Talks over the filling and operation of the dam have been deadlocked for the past year as Ethiopia perseveres with filling the reservoir without an agreement with Cairo and Khartoum. Earlier this year, Ethiopia began to generate power from the dam.
Sudan’s foreign ministry denounced Horo’s “irresponsible statements” and reiterated its demands for a “fair and binding” agreement before Ethiopia continues to fill the reservoir, the state-run Sudan News Agency reported.
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