GERD Safer than the Dams in Sudan, Egypt: Sudanese Minister

Addis Ababa June 8/2020 (ENA) Sudanese Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources, Yasser Abbas, told the media that Ethiopia’s Grand Renaissance Dam (GERD) is safer than the dams in Sudan and Egypt.

“The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam’s degree of safety is better than that of Sudanese dams and Egypt’s High Dam, due to the materials and technology used in its construction based on some studies,” he said in televised dialogue.

“We only side with our interests, and sometimes they go along with those of Egypt or Ethiopia. When we said that the Renaissance Dam is beneficial to us, we were accused of siding with Ethiopia,” Yasser Abbas stated.

Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt have been in progressive discussions for years in an effort to reach an agreement on the dam issues which Egypt fears it could reduce its water supplies.

However, Ethiopia reiterated the dam intends only to generate electricity without significantly harming the riparian countries.

The final report of the International Panel of Experts (IPoE) on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam outlined the main concerns by Egypt as the reduction in the volume of water, the safety of the dam, and quality of the water.

However, this concern could be easily addressed by consulting about the optimal time for filling the dam during the rainy season and the IPoE recommended further measures to ensure the safety of the dam.