Overview

• Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed opened the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam at a ceremony attended by regional leaders including the presidents of Kenya, Somalia, Djibouti and South Sudan.
• The Blue Nile project stands about 145 metres high and nearly two kilometres long with a 74 billion cubic metre reservoir, and its turbines have now reached their reported 5,150 MW capacity after phased filling since 2020.
• Ethiopia frames the dam as key to expanding electricity access and enabling power exports, though roughly half the population remains off-grid and transmission interconnectors are still being developed.
• Egypt and Sudan denounce unilateral operation as a threat to water security, demand a binding operating agreement, and Cairo says it will take measures under international law to defend its interests.
• Independent studies report no major downstream flow disruptions so far due to wet-season filling and favourable rainfall, with experts citing potential flood-control benefits for Sudan and warning that drought coordination remains unresolved.