Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD)

Ethiopia on Tuesday inaugurated the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), the continent’s largest hydroelectric project, with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed hailing it as a “great achievement for all black people.”

The $4-billion megastructure, towering 170 metres high and stretching nearly 2 km across the Blue Nile, is designed to store 74 billion cubic metres of water and generate 5,150 megawatts of electricity — more than double Ethiopia’s current installed capacity.

Construction of GERD began in 2011, and the dam has since become a national symbol of unity for Ethiopia, despite the country’s ongoing internal conflicts. The project is located near the Sudanese border, straddling a key tributary of the River Nile.

While celebrated domestically, the inauguration sparked renewed tensions with downstream nation Egypt, which filed a protest at the United Nations, citing concerns over its share of Nile waters.

GERD now stands as Africa’s largest dam by power capacity, though it remains outside the world’s top 10.