Ethiopia’s controversial Nile River mega-dam project will start its first round of power generation in June 2021 Ethiopia’s Minister of Water, Irrigation and Energy, Dr Seleshi Bekele said Wednesday.
The $4.6 billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) will be the largest in Africa. When it reaches full power-generating capacity in 2023, it is expected to generate 6,000 megawatts of electricity.
The Minister made the remark on Wednesday during a lecture he gave on at the University College London (UCL) on Accelerating Renewable Energy Development to meet Universal Energy Access.
The discussion was attended by the UN Secretary General Representative on Energy alongside other distinguished academics, according to the Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Energy.
The discussion included how Ethiopia within East Africa is using holistic approaches for energy generation and sustainable development.
In his lecture Dr. Seleshi touched upon the major strides Ethiopia is making in the field of renewable energy generation for universal energy access which can be taken as important learning’s for other countries.
Dr. Seleshi also talked about GERD that Ethiopia is self-financing and building with a capacity of 5150MW which when completed will ensure clean energy to all Ethiopian citizens.
Dr. Seleshi also stated Ethiopia’s intention to not only produce power for internal consumption but also to work with neighbouring countries on an East Africa Power Pool that will provide power for all of East Africa.
He also touched upon the issue of foreign currency shortages and mentioned that there are a variety of measures and reforms taking place that will allow this to be resolved.
MG/abj/APA