ADDIS ABABA – Works are going ahead to a preliminary power generation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), Project Manager, Eng. Kifle Horo, told The Ethiopian Herald.
Plantation of steel that facilitate preliminary power production in unit nine and ten of the Dam is underway, he added. Over 85 percent of the civil, 29 of the electromechanical and 15 of the steel works have been concluded, according to him. “The percentage is calculated as per the amount of payment made to the contractors,” he said.
The Dam’s construction activities were taking place at a slow pace, he said, adding that following the appointment of new contractors for the project, the whole lot is being undertaken appropriately and thus the desired goal is being achieved time and again.
“We are on a preliminary preparation. According to our plan, the preliminary power production will see the light of day by the end of the next Ethiopian New Year. As we don’t know what we may face down the road, the project may be operational before or after the set plan.”
The overall physical work may see finalization by the end of 2022 or 2023. “To the best of my knowledge, as the dam is the wealth and emblem of all of us if the construction works head in the right direction and the people of Ethiopia are provided with the right information, they will pay homage to the dam over and over again without a shred of a doubt,” he wrapped up.
The office has been discharging a wide spectrum of activities time and again to acquaint the general public with the current status of the GRED, according to Hailu Abraham, Public Relations Head at the Office of the Ethiopian National Council for the Coordination of Public Participation on the Construction of GERD.
“In recent times, we were able to raise awareness of the Civil Society on the current status of the GERD in which Eng. Kifle Horo and Eng. Gedion Asfaw, Chairperson of International Panel of Experts (IPoE) were able to put in plain words the whole lot in connection with the dam,” he said.
He kept on saying, “this week, we briefed all political parties that have accreditation from the National Election Board of Ethiopia on the status of the Dam.” “By the same token, we have got different platforms related to the Grand Renaissance Ethiopian Dam. A case in point, this year, a bond week and musical drama, sports competition, and other related aspects will be held in various parts of the country,” he added.
Later last February, The Ethiopian Herald reported that Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) signed a contract worth 40 million USD with China Gezhouba Group Co., Ltd (CGGC) tasked to handle the pre-commissioning activities while it also entered a contract worth 113 million USD with Voith Hydro Shanghai, that includes the electrical, mechanical, and various civil/structural works required to complete the construction of the generating station and spillways of GERD.
The 6,000 megawatt GERD is the centerpiece of Ethiopia’s bid to become Africa’s biggest power exporter.
The Ethiopian Herald Friday Edition, January 3/2020
BY ADDISALEM MULAT
