Public Raises over 116 Mln Birr in one Month to Support GERD

Addis Ababa, August 19/2020(ENA) Ethiopians have contributed more than 116 million Birr over the past one month alone to support the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), according to Office of the National Council for Coordination of Public Participation on the GERD.

The stated amount of fund was raised after Ethiopia announced the completion of the first filling of the dam on 21 July 2020, Public Relations and Media Communication Director at the Office, Hailu Abraham told ENA.  

The successful completion of the first filling of the dam has extremely encouraged Ethiopians  to further continue their support to the construction of the dam, he said.  

“Out of the total sum raised during the month, over 105 million Birr was obtained from bond purchase and donation which is the biggest amount being collected in a single month since the commencement of the dam,” Hailu stated.

The Director further pointed out that more than 11 million Birr was collected on the month of July via the "8100A" mobile short message (SMS) fundraising campaign.  

According to him, the public in general and the private sectors, financial institutions, and the Diaspora community in particular have played pivotal role for the contribution.

Ethiopians have so far contributed over 13 billion Birr to finance the dam.