Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed officially inaugurated power generation from the country’s mega-dam on the Blue Nile on Sunday, a milestone in the controversial multi-billion dollar project. Abiy, accompanied by senior officials, toured the power plant and pressed a series of buttons on an electronic screen, a gesture officials said kickstarted production. The $4.2 billion (€3.7 billion) project is ultimately expected to produce more than 5,000 megawatts of electricity, more than doubling Ethiopia’s power output. The largest dam in AfricaEthiopia launched in 2011 the construction of the GERD on the Blue Nile, about 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the border with Sudan. The total capacity of the reservoir is 74 billion cubic meters and the goal for 2021 was to add 13.5 billion.

Source: Ethiopian News February 20, 2022 07:43 UTC