About the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD):
- Location:
- 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 River.
- Capacity: At 6.45 Gigawatts, the dam will be the largest hydroelectric power plant in Africa when completed.
- Features:
- It is a roller-compacted concrete (RCC) gravity-type dam comprising two power stations, three spillways, and a saddle dam.
- The main dam is 145m high and 1,780m long.
- It will create a reservoir covering 1,875 square kilometres and contain 74 billion cubic metres of water.
- 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 an agreement on how it should work.
