Ethiopia’s dream to build the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) was made public on March 31, 2011. It was initially named Project X and later named the Millennium Dam. It is located on the Blue Nile River, Benishangul-Gumuz Region, Ethiopia. Its foundational stone was laid on April 2, 2011, by then-Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and was later renamed the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on April 15, 2011.
Key Milestones in Construction
- 2011: Construction began with the Italian company Salini Impregilo (now Webuild).
- 2013: An international panel of experts (IPoE) assessed the dam and its technical parameters.
- 2015: Ethiopia, Egypt, and Sudan signed a Declaration of Principles in Khartoum to cooperate on the project. However, this didn’t end the opposing stance of Egypt and Sudan to the project.
- 2020: Ethiopia announces the first filling of the reservoir in July, while the water level of the dam reached an altitude of 540 meters in August.
- 2021: The second filling of the dam got completed in July, with the water level reaching 575 meters.
- 2022: The first turbine successfully generated 375 megawatts worth of electricity for the national grid in February, while a second 375-megawatt turbine was commissioned in August, raising the water level to 600 meters.
- 2023: The fourth filling was completed in September, with the water level reaching around 625 meters.
- 2024: The third and fourth 400 megawatt turbines are commissioned in August, while the fifth and final filling of the reservoir was completed in October, reaching the final water level of 640 meters.
- 2025: The dam gets officially inaugurated by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on September 9, 2025, marking its full operation.
Dam Statistics
- Total Cost: approximately US$5 billion.
- Physical Dimensions:
- Main Dam Height: 170 meters (558 ft)
- Main Dam Length: 1,800 meters (5,906 ft)
- Concrete Volume: 10.7 million cubic meters (largest roller-compacted concrete gravity dam in Africa).
- Reservoir:
- Total Capacity: 74 billion cubic meters
- Surface Area: 1,875 square kilometers (724 square miles)
- Power Generation:
- Number of Turbines: 13 Francis turbines (11 x 400 MW, 2 x 375 MW)
- Installed Capacity: 5,150 MW
- Estimated Annual Generation: 15.76 TWh
The GERD project is expected to double Ethiopia’s electricity production, alleviate energy shortages, and allow for electricity export to neighboring countries like Sudan, Kenya, and Djibouti. Also, a surge in investment opportunities in the fishing industry and tourism has been highly projected to potentially triple Ethiopia’s GDP. During its construction, over 25,000 workers were employed, with more than 95% being Ethiopian.
