http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/94557/Egypt/Politics-/Egypt-to-officially-demand-halt-in-construction-of.aspx
Egypt to officially demand halt in construction of Ethiopian dam
The minister of irrigation says unless Ethiopia offers a mutually agreeable
solution, Egypt may demand the Ethiopian government to stop the
construction of the Renaissance Dam
Marina Barsoum, Tuesday 18 Feb 2014
Minister of Irrigation Mohamed Abdel-Motteleb told Al-Ahram daily newspaper
that Egypt may in a few days send an official statement demanding that
construction of the Ethiopian dam be halted until a mutually agreeable
solution is found.
Irrigation Ministry spokesperson Khaled Wassef told Ahram Online that four
attempts to negotiate the matter, the last of which proved an utter
failure, have already been extended by Egypt.
Abdel-Motteleb also told Al-Ahram daily that should the Ethiopian
government offer new solutions, Egypt would nevertheless welcome a new
round of negotiations.
"All proposals submitted by Egypt to the Ethiopian government have been
obstinately rejected and without explanation," Wassef added.
The planned Grand Renaissance Dam is a $4.2 billion hydro-electric dam on
the Blue Nile, one of the main tributaries of the Nile.
The project has been a source of concern for the Egyptian government since
May last year, when images of the dam's construction stirred public anxiety
about possible effects on Egypt's share of the Nile water, the country's
main source of potable water.
Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan formed a tripartite technical committee to study
the possible effects of the dam and try to generate consensus. Ethiopia
maintains that Egypt's water share will not be negatively affected by the
successful completion of the project.
In recent meetings in Khartoum, the tripartite committee was scheduled to
formulate a document that entails "confidence building measures" between
the countries, and also to form a special international conflict-resolution
committee.
However, the tripartite committee's success was thwarted last December when
Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir announced his support for the dam during
a meeting with Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn.
Wassef has earlier said that the Ethiopian Grand Renaissance Dam faces
financial as well as technical problems, and that the Ethiopian
government's statements that the project has been 30 percent completed are
a "media show" for its own political gains.
Egypt has demanded that Ethiopia submit construction plans for the dam for
assessment by international experts.
Meanwhile, Ethiopian Irrigation Minister Alamayo Tegno said his country is
committed to the recommendations of an international committee of experts.
Received on Tue Feb 18 2014 - 09:59:34 EST