US Analyst Says GERD Inauguration Marks a Major Injection of Energy for Africa

Addis Ababa, September 9, 2025 (ENA) -- Ethiopia has set an excellent example for the rest of the African continent through the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), a new benchmark for regional integration, an internationally respected American analyst, Lawrence Freeman, said.

The dam, with a 5,150 megawatt of hydroelectric power to the East African nation, was inaugurated on Tuesday in the presence of leaders from Africa and the Caribbean. 

Freeman, who has visited the Grand Renaissance Dam, had an exclusive interview with ENA at the site of the dam, Guba, Benishangul region of Ethiopia.

For the U.S. analyst, Ethiopia has accomplished a “great feat’ in building this hydroelectric dam.  

According to him, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam has several implications for Africa.

He elaborated that the dam, in particular, will help the entire Horn of Africa, and actually East Africa, benefit from adequate electricity.

Currently, Ethiopia is supplying electricity to Djibouti, to Kenya, to Sudan, and is planning to soon supply electricity to Tanzania.  

“ So the economic integration has already begun. Now, from my standpoint, as a physical economist, we need a lot more energy for Ethiopia for Africa, but this (GERD) is the biggest injection of energy onto the continent.”

And it also now places Ethiopia as the second largest producer of energy in Sub-Saharan Africa,” Freeman underscored.

According to the analyst, Ethiopia has created a great model for African countries to follow. By building up its energy supply, Ethiopia is working to improve its citizens' standard of living, grow its manufacturing and irrigation sectors, and reduce poverty. The rest of the continent should look to Ethiopia as an example.

“We need every African country to follow the model of Ethiopia and build an energy supply that can raise the standard of living of the people, increase the manufacturing sector, increase irrigation, and eliminate poverty. So, Ethiopia has set an excellent example for the rest of the continent.”

He finally urged African countries as well as Westerners to visit the GERD and witness what has been accomplished. He added that this achievement should serve as an example for others to follow.

“I feel privileged that I can visit it twice, and other nations and other people in the region, and some of the Westerners who are not really up to snuff about what's going on in Africa, everybody should come and visit the GERD and see for themselves what has been accomplished. And then that should be emulated,” he stated.