Ethiopia Set to Start Generating Power from Blue Nile Dam

JOHANNESBURG - Ethiopia plans to begin generating power from its controversial Blue Nile River dam during the upcoming rainy season between June and August, the foreign ministry announced Thursday.

The $4.6 billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is expected to collect 13.5 billion cubic meters of the Blue Nile River water in the rainy season, swelling its reservoir to 18.4 billion cubic meters, the ministry statement said. The Blue Nile, which originates in Ethiopia, is one of two major tributaries of the Nile River and during the rainy season it contributes up to 80% of the Nile's water. A power line 650 kilometers long has been completed to connect the electricity generated at the dam to the country's power grid, said the statement.