GERD Saddle Dam Face Slab Milestone Completion

Addis Ababa November 12/2019 The face slab of Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD)’s saddle dam, which is a milestone in the entire project, is fully completed today. 

In an exclusive interview with ENA, saddle dam Civil Construction Inspection Head Engineer Girma Mengistu said the upstream face of the saddle dam is now fully completed with over 14 million meter cube concrete embankment.

The completed upstream face of the saddle dam, particularly the face slab covers an area of more than 330,000 meter square, he pointed out. 

According to him, the saddle dam is 5.2 kilometers and has an average height of 50 meters. 

Engineer Girma added that completion of the saddle dam's face slab will have paramount importance in accelerating the construction of the main project by shifting the workers from the saddle dam to GERD. 

He added that foundation treatment had earlier been accomplished to prevent any ' possible underground water leakage and more than 30,000 plastic diaphragms have also been laid underground. 

"Accomplishing the saddle dam's face slab with all the crucial components is now ' a milestone in attaining the services we seek from it and most importantly the way it is needed," he elaborated. 

Girma noted that the saddle dam, constructed in an elevation of not more than 600 meters will have a pivotal contribution towards generating the planned 15,760 GWh power from GERD. 

Moreover, there was significant amount of knowledge and skill transfer during the construction of the saddle dam, the Civil Construction Inspection Head stated.

Excavation and clearing of the saddle dam started right after the commencement of GERD construction while its face slab started in 2009 Ethiopian year.