Ethiopia Prepares for Construction of $4.7bn Dam

The Ethiopian Government plans to begin the construction of the Great Millennium Nile Dam Project in the region of Benishangul-Gumuz soon.

Ethiopia Water and Energy Minister Alemayehu Tegenu said that the cost of the project, estimated to be ETB80bn ($4.7bn), will be covered by the government.

The dam is expected to hold 62 billion cubic metres of water and generate 5,250MW of power for the country.

Since the dam is being built in a very narrow site and a deep gorge, the evaporation rate is expected to be less compared to the Jebel Awalia dam in Sudan and the Aswan dam in Egypt.

Work on the first two phases of the project is expected to be finalised within 44 months.