About Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD):
- The GERD, formerly known as the Millennium Dam, is situated in the Benishangul-Gumuz region of Ethiopia, near the border with Sudan.
- It is located on the Blue Nile, one of the main tributaries of the Nile
- Capacity: At 45 Gigawatts, it is the largest hydroelectric power plant in Africa.
- Construction Started: April 2011
- The project is owned by Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCO).
- Features:
- It features a 170-meter-high main gravity dam built using roller-compacted concrete (RCC), flanked by two hydroelectric power stations at its base, and a 5-kilometer-long secondary rockfill dam with a concrete facing.
- The dam forms a reservoir covering 1,875 sq.km, which can hold up to 74 billion cubic metres of water.
- The GERD reservoir is in a deep gorge, so its surface area is relatively small compared to its volume.
- The powerhouses include 16 generating units of 375 MW each.
- Dispute: Egypt and Sudan fear the massive $4.2bn GERD will severely reduce the share of Nile water they receive and have repeatedly asked Ethiopia to stop filling it until they have all reached agreement on how it should work.
