The announcement was made by Egypt, which “firmly rejected” this move by Ethiopia. Addis Ababa has been building the largest hydroelectric dam in Africa on the Nile River since 2011. The infrastructure is of particular concern to Egypt and Sudan, which are downstream and fear an impact on their water supplies.
Upon learning of the launch of a second phase of the filling, Egypt denounced a “violation of international law” and immediately warned the UN Security Council, which is due to meet on Thursday on the subject. The Egyptians and Sudanese are pushing for the UN’s main body to take up the issue and force Ethiopia to stop until a tripartite agreement is reached.
The Renaissance Dam is 80% complete. A first phase of filling was carried out last year to test the operation of a turbine used to manage the flow of water and to retain nearly 5 billion m3. This second phase should allow the water to reach new turbines, to continue the tests and to fill 13.5 billion m3 of additional water.
The Egyptian and Sudanese foreign ministers are already in New York. Ahead of the meeting, they have already met with representatives of several countries, Ireland, Mexico, Estonia and Norway, to defend their point of view. The Arab League has also written to the Council. Resulting immediately in the anger of Addis Ababa.