Ethiopia has rejected a proposal tabled by Egypt over the process of filling the reservoir of the controversial Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) being built on the Blue Nile.
Minister of Water, Irrigation and Energy, Dr Engineer Seleshi Bekele, Wednesday briefed local media on the results of the meeting held between Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt last Sunday and Monday in Cairo over the dam.
In the proposal, Egypt requested Ethiopia to fill the dam’s reservoir in seven years and to release 40 billion cubic meter of water annually.
It also demanded the dam’s main purpose to be only to release water when its volume at the Aswan Dam reached 165 meters above ground level, he said.
Ethiopia said it rejected the proposal because it breached the agreement signed between the three countries on the fair utilization of the Nile waters.
MG/as/APA