However, rights groups have raised concernsover the impact that it is having on downstream communities and the environment. Dams are constructed to raise the river’s water to a high level for release to drive turbines within the dam’s power station that generate electricity. It is developing various sources, including the Omo-Gibe basin’s potential through the Gibe cascade of hydropower dams along the length of the Omo river. This is because the Omo river, on which Gibe III dam is built, is its umbilical cord. The Omo-Gibe River Basin Integrated Development Plan had in 1996 warned that a bilateral agreement was needed between Kenya and Ethiopia before tampering with the Omo river discharges.

Source: Ethiopian News September 14, 2017 06:11 UTC