Ethiopia Needs to Keep GERD Momentum, Build Dams: PIRC Executive Director

Addis Ababa, July 26, 2026 (ENA) —GERD has vividly demonstrated what Ethiopians can do through unity and the country needs to keep its momentum by taking crucial experiences from the historic success of the dam, Policy Innovation Research Center (PIRC) Executive Director, Solomon Zena, said.

In an exclusive interview with ENA, the Executive Director noted that  Ethiopia has been a great example in so many things, further highlighting the country’s continued exemplary role by realizing the grand dam.

 

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is a major clean energy project that significantly boosts renewable hydropower indispensable for advancing regional economic integration.

Solomon further said the dam is generating renewable energy that is also instrumental for bolstering the country’s climate actions and providing energy for the region.

The Executive Director further elaborated on the significance of GERD for mitigating climate change by generating renewable energy.

He also stressed the need for moving ahead to keep the momentum in developing the country’s water resources by taking the essential experiences from GERD.

The nation needs to go and also build small dams as the successful completion of the GERD vividly manifests how Ethiopians make differences through unity.

GERD is a historic milestone driven by public unity and government resolve which is also widely hailed as a historic milestone of national unity, self-reliance, and shared pride.

 

“It is a great initiative. It shows that when we come together, we can make a difference. We can build a dam like that, one of the largest in Africa.”

The Executive Director emphasized the need to keep that momentum by expanding the efforts the country already made and also the big achievement shown with the Grand Renaissance Dam alongside some other programs implemented in different sectors of the economy. 

Ethiopia has to keep its momentum as long as the people and the government believe that it helps to bring development in Ethiopia without harming others, he underscored.

 

“We need to go ahead and do what we did with the Grand Renaissance Dam. I understand that we need more dams,” Solomon stated.

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is widely regarded as indispensable for advancing regional economic integration while also standing as a powerful symbol of African self-reliance.