Ethiopia is currently building a large dam on the Blue Nile, the Nile’s largest tributary.The Renaissace Dam is to include a 74-billion-cubic-metre reservoir when finished.
Egypt has repeatedly voiced anxiety that the dam will reduce its water supply, while Addis Ababa has claimed that the dam would not harm downstream countries Egypt and Sudan, and has continued construction.
Meeting on Tuesday with a Sudanese media delegation, Moghazi said that Egypt's current share of Nile water is already not enough to cover the country's needs.
Egypt's current water quota from the Nile is 55 billion cubic metres.
Yet, according to Egypt's National Planning Institute, the country will likely need an additional 21 billion cubic metres of water per year to meet the demands of a projected population of 150 million in 2050.
Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia have agreed to select a consulting firm to conduct an impact study on the dam’s construction, but the selection process has been ongoing for months. The irrigation ministry in early March announced that four consulting firms had been shortlisted, but no still no final firm has been selected.
Egyptian president Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on Tuesday met with Egyptian officials to discuss the different possible consulting firms for the study, according to the Ahram Arabic new website.
The three countries are now expected to announce the consulting firm when they meet in Khartoum at the end of the month.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/125498.aspx
17/3/15
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Related:
Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan sign deal to end Nile dispute...
ReplyDeleteThree African leaders have signed an initial deal to end a long-running dispute over the sharing of Nile waters and the building of Africa's biggest hydroelectric dam, in Ethiopia.
The leaders of Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan signed the agreement in Sudan's capital, Khartoum.
Egypt has opposed the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, saying it would worsen its water shortages.
Ethiopia says the dam will give it a fairer share of Nile waters.
In 2013, Ethiopia's parliament ratified a controversial treaty to replace colonial-era agreements that gave Egypt and Sudan the biggest share of the Nile's water.
Egypt's then-President Mohamed Morsi said he did not want war but he would not allow Egypt's water supply to be endangered by the dam.............http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-32016763
23/3/15