Ethiopia And Egypt Still Struggling To Achieve Dam Coordination

The Egyptian Irrigation Minister Mohamed Abdel-Aty has said that there is no progress on reaching an agreement between Egypt and Ethiopia over the use of Renaissance Dam, a structure which will have an impact on the Nile’s water flow going into Egypt.

Efforts to reach an agreement have so far been unsuccessful.

With the river’s basin covering 11 countries, other similar structures have been built, but never without an agreement between countries to regulate water flow levels.

Mr. Abdel-Aty said: “The establishment of a huge dam such as the Renaissance Dam, without coordination with the Egyptian High Dam, is a precedent that has not occurred before, and requires a clear and binding coordination mechanism between them, which Ethiopia rejects.”

While the Africa Union is overseeing negotiations, Egypt, a country that meets more than 90% of its water needs from the Nile, is putting in place water efficiency programmes.

The efforts aim to modernise irrigation systems, line 20,000 km of canals and rationalising management and use of groundwater.

A presidential spokesperson said: ““This is a key component to the state’s strategy to rationalize water consumption and raise the efficiency of irrigation water management, mainly the national project to line canals and raise the capacity of secondary water canals.”

However, according to Egyptian President Sisi, the $ 50 Million USD project is not enough and the successful management of water resources relies heavily on the ability of neighbouring countries to articulate rational and fair water use.