BY HIZKEL HAILU
Lately yesterday, Ethiopian Minister of Water Irrigation and Energy Eng. Sileshi Bekele has announced that Ethiopia has completed the second water filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).
“The GERD reservoir reached overtopping water level. Currently, the incoming flow passes through both bottom outlets and overtopping. This year also we are experiencing extreme rainfall in the Abay Basin (Blue Nile Basin). As a result, the GERD reservoir is filled rapidly.
GERD is an Ethiopian hydropower dam and guardian infrastructure asset for the downstream countries against climate change. It is also a means to develop further and prosper together; it can never be a treat,” the Minister tweeted.
While congratulating to people of Ethiopia for the peaceful completion the second filling that is conducted yesterday, Sileshi Bekele further stated the next milestone for GERD construction is to realize the early power generation in the next few months.
Following the announcement of the breaking news about Ethiopia has completed the second filling, and the two turbines will be operational a few months ahead, economists are suggesting that Ethiopia will boom its economy and strengthen the regional integration soon.
Ermias Ashagre, Assistant Professor at the Department of Economy in Bahir Dar University told The Ethiopian Herald that the surplus electricity produced by the GERD will be a steady source of income for Ethiopia, adding that the GERD after its operation will have greater role in alleviating poverty as well as building regional integration.
Noting that the dam is capable of generating up to 6.4 Giga watts of electricity after the completion, he asserted that Ethiopia hopes that the additional electricity capacity will help to spur further economic development and allow it to export more to neighboring countries to increase its foreign exchange earnings.
Important issue should be clear to the people of Sudan and Egypt and the whole world as well is there is a grave shortage of electricity generated so far in Ethiopia in which about 60 percent of its population is coerced to live in darkness.
That shortage is partly caused by a reliance on hydroelectricity, a lack of diversification that Addis Ababa would like to address in the future. For now, however, it is more focused on harnessing the untapped power of the Nile, which it has historically been abandoned from doing, Ermias added.
On top of generating hydropower, GERD is an integral part of the Ethiopian economic and political development strategy. Apart from giving light for the rural people, the dam is hoped to provide much needed electricity for industrial development and give the country greater control over the flow of the Nile.
Explaining electricity export is the current strategic objective of Ethiopia, he asserted that the country can generate hard currency very soon in exporting energy to the countries in the region. After GERD’s completion, Ethiopia will become the second-largest producer of electricity in sub-Saharan Africa next to South Africa. Thereupon, it will bring tangible and sustainable economic growth to Ethiopia and the East African countries as well.
If the amount of the power capacity that might be produced from the dam can address and cover the electricity demand of industries coupled with the households, it will be possible to increase production capacity of the industries in addition to substituting import items.
Ermias also illustrated that Bahir Dar Industry Park is operating in only three shifts due to lack of electricity. Cognizant of this, it is not producing goods that are compatible with its potential. Subsequently, the power generation will cause to cancel the shifting system and help the industries to operate 24/7 with their full capacity, he said.
Moreover, it will also reduce deforestation if the dam starts its full operation of generating power. Knowingly, many of Ethiopians particularly people who are living at the rural areas of the country are using charcoal or wood for their daily cooking and heat energy. Therefore, the power generation will also curve the deforestation which has direct impact on the global climate change, he noted.
According to Ermias, the second water filling and the first power generation of the dam will be highly significant through reducing unemployment. If different fabrics and industries start to produce with their full capacity, many youths across the nation will get a chance to be employed at different industrial zones.
In addition to its economic significance, the first cycle operational of power generation using the two turbines after some time of the second filling will also strengthen the political potential of Ethiopia. As soon as the dam starts its operation, Ethiopia can export electric power for its neighboring countries such as Eritrea, Kenya, Djibouti, and some other African countries. This will help the country to build its political capacity, he noted.
Apart from booming the national economy, the operational of the dam will also be supportive for strengthening the regional integration among the Horn of Africa countries. Henceforth, this will also help Ethiopia to the solidification of its political capacity, he added.
GERD-induced economic growth of Ethiopia is anchored mainly on the tremendous improvements in energy supply which in turn increases efficiency, capacity utilization, and productivity for the energy–constrained economy. The GERD is of paramount importance in reducing poverty, particularly in Ethiopia and generally in Sudan and Egypt, he asserted.
Sharing the above idea, Mekonen Abera, an Economist for his part explained that the result of the enormous dam is more than what Ethiopia needs. Therefore, the Ethiopian government expects to export power to neighboring nations, including Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya, Sudan and South Sudan.
Noting that the dam will also irrigate over 1.2 million acres of farming land, Mekonen explained the fertilization of soil will guarantee a successful harvest for millions of farmers. And this is crucial to ensuring the growth of Ethiopia’s economy, which is still mostly based on agriculture.
Indicating that Ethiopia has been injecting huge amount of foreign currency in the construction capital of this project, he clarified the completion of this mega project is expected to stabilize inflation through augmenting production and productivity on top of minimizing national foreign currency expenditure so far.
He further indicated that Ethiopia could be self-sufficient in food production as the dam creates opportunity for vast irrigation. Adding to the point he suggested Ethiopians should not use the dam only for electricity generation. As to him, the operation of the dam will have a capacity to produce surplus agricultural products.
Up on achieving the local demand, the country can export electric power to the international market. So, the economic impact of the project is large as it affects many parts of the sector positively. Besides, the availability of sufficient energy boosts Ethiopian economy in the sectors of construction, industry, agriculture and others, he explained.
Being happiest by the herald which was announced yesterday regarding the second water filling, economists mentioned benefiting small scale manufacturers to exporters, modernizing agriculture, addressing electric power demand of the society in particular and booming national economy coupled with strengthening regional integration are the major advantage of the dam.
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD JULY 20/2021
