Launched in 2011 at an estimated cost of $4 billion, the Grand Renaissance Dam (GERD), located on the Blue Nile, is now completed. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced on Thursday, July 3, 2025, in front of Parliament, that the official inauguration of this massive hydroelectric project will take place next September. A true engineering feat, the dam stands as the largest energy project ever undertaken on the African continent.
With an electricity production capacity of 5,000 megawatts, double the current capacity of Ethiopia, the GERD represents a strategic investment for energy self-sufficiency, industrialization, and regional integration. The structure, 1.8 kilometers long and 145 meters high, is expected to transform Ethiopia into a major energy hub for the Horn of Africa, with economic benefits expected over several decades.
One of the most remarkable aspects of the project lies in its financing. Rejecting external interference, Addis Ababa decided to finance the GERD without direct recourse to international donors or multilateral financial institutions. The funding was provided by the Ethiopian state, through national bonds, popular contributions, deductions from civil servants, and patriotic campaigns. This unprecedented financial mobilization was presented as an act of economic sovereignty and national pride.
A project at the heart of Nile geopolitics
But the path to the completion of the GERD has not been without turbulence. From its inception, the project has been strongly contested by Egypt and Sudan, two downstream countries on the Nile, who fear a reduction in their access to water. Cairo, which depends on the Nile for over 90% of its freshwater supply, sees the dam as an existential threat. Sudan, on the other hand, has expressed concerns about flow regulation and dam safety.
Years of often fruitless negotiations have taken place under the auspices of the African Union, the United States, and more recently the United Arab Emirates. Ethiopia’s unilateral filling of the dam, without a binding tripartite agreement, has fueled diplomatic tensions. Egypt has mentioned the possibility of military action on several occasions, while Ethiopia denounced an attempt to maintain an unbalanced historical status quo inherited from the colonial era.
Facing this persistent controversy, the Ethiopian Prime Minister has tried to ease tensions. “The Renaissance Dam is not a threat, but a common opportunity,” he told the members of Parliament. He also invited the governments and peoples of Egypt, Sudan, and all countries in the Nile basin to participate in the dam’s inauguration scheduled for September 2025.
Beyond hydropolitical rivalries, the GERD represents a major step forward for the energy development of East Africa. It will not only secure Ethiopia’s domestic electricity supply but also allow for exports to its neighbors (Sudan, Kenya, Djibouti, Somalia) as part of a regional energy integration strategy. This monumental project, funded by Ethiopians themselves, aims to be the foundation of a new model of endogenous development in Africa.
