For roughly the past decade, Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan have been in talks to secure an agreement on unresolved issues related to the potential impact of the $4.6-billion GERD on their water security.
Ethiopia insists that the project is vital for its electrification and development needs.
Egypt, which depends on the Nile for some 97 percent of its irrigation and drinking water, fears that the filling of the dam will eventually trigger a water shortage crisis in the event of a prolonged drought.
The Egyptian government claims that if it takes five years to fill the Ethiopian dam, it will reduce Egypt’s water supply by 36 percent and destroy half of the country’s farmland.
Sudan, Ethiopia’s northern neighbor, is also concerned about the potential consequences of GERD’s construction for its own dams, as well as for the safety of its population and farmland from flooding that could result from faults in the construction or operation of the dam.
The Ethiopian government has refuted claims that the dam will have a detrimental effect on the downstream water flow into Sudan and Egypt.