Ethiopia Probes Alleged Dam Misspending That Slowed Construction
- Former contractor Metec says some of funds unaccounted for
- Showpiece GERD is a source of rising tensions with Egypt
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Ethiopian authorities are probing missing funds a military contractor already accused of graft was meant to spend on a showpiece dam on a Nile tributary that’s raised tensions with Egypt.
Military-linked Metals & Engineering Corp., which was replaced as a contractor on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in August 2018, said it could only account for spending of 9 billion birr ($305 million) of the 16 billion birr it received from a state-owned power company for mechanical and structural works. Work on the project on the Blue Nile is running about five years late, with Ethiopia planning to finish it in 2023.