Why Ethiopia’s $5 Billion Nile Dam Has Riled Its Neighbors

Ethiopia has been at loggerheads with downstream neighbors Egypt and Sudan for years over a $5 billion mega-dam it’s built on the Nile River’s biggest tributary. A fourth phase of filling a 74 billion cubic-meter (2.6 trillion cubic-foot) reservoir behind the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam was completed in September, a process Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said was undertaken despite “external pressure.” Tensions are likely to persist despite the project being largely a fait accompli, because of the control Ethiopia now wields over flows along a key regional waterway.

The Nile is the most important source of fresh water in a largely arid region that is very vulnerable to drought and climate change and is experiencing rapid population growth. Egypt relies on the 4,000-mile (6,400-kilometers)-long river for as much as 97% of its supply, and much of eastern Sudan’s population depends on it for survival. Ethiopia is counting on a 5,150-megawatt hydropower plant on its new dam to help supply electricity to the 60% of its population that don’t have access, and to sustain its manufacturing industries. The plant began generating power in 2022, some of which will be sold to neighboring countries.