graphic understanding

Ethiopia-Egypt: GERD, a feat of engineering

in depth

This article is part of the dossier:

GERD: The dam of discord

By Olivier Caslin, Marie Toulemonde

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Posted on May 7, 2021 16:38

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Using 10 metric tonnes of concrete, standing at 175 metres tall and with a reservoir volume of 79 km3, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is an impressive feat of engineering – as well as a source of conflict between Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan. We delve deeper into the intricacies with a visual explanation below.

This is part 3 of a 5-part series

As its name indicates, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) will usher in a new era for Ethiopia and the entire Horn of Africa region.

With a hydropower production capacity of 6,450 megawatts (MW), or three times the Aswan dam’s, the GERD will be unrivalled on the continent outside of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) Inga III, once the Congo River project is completed.

The new dam will ensure Ethiopia’s energy independence while exporting upwards of $800m worth of electricity annually to the country’s neighbours in Djibouti, Kenya and Sudan.

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