On a bright morning in Guba, Ethiopia, the air buzzed with anticipation as dignitaries and local workers gathered beneath the fluttering Ethiopian flag. The occasion? The inauguration of Africa’s largest hydroelectric dam, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), a project that has gripped the attention of the continent and stirred debate far beyond Ethiopia’s borders. On September 9, 2025, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed officially launched the colossal structure, hailing it as "the greatest achievement in the history of the Black race," according to BBC News.
The GERD, perched just 14 kilometers east of the Sudanese border on the Blue Nile, is a feat of engineering that stretches 1.8 kilometers across and towers 145 meters high. Its vast reservoir, named Lake Nigat—meaning "dawn" in Amharic—now covers an area larger than Greater London. With a maximum output of 5,150 megawatts, it places Ethiopia among the world’s top 20 hydroelectric producers, though still only about a quarter of the capacity of China’s Three Gorges Dam, as reported by Reuters.
For Ethiopia, the dam is more than just a power plant—it’s a symbol of national pride and unity. Construction began in 2011, funded almost entirely through domestic means. Local media cited by Reuters report that 91% of the funding came from the state, with the remaining 9% raised from Ethiopians purchasing government bonds or making donations. This collective effort was echoed by clinical nurse Kiros Asfaw, who told BBC News, "I promised myself to do everything I could to help it through the finish line," after buying government bonds more than 100 times, even during the Tigray conflict when banking services were suspended.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, flanked by regional leaders including Kenya’s President William Ruto, Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, and Djibouti’s President Ismail Guelleh, addressed the crowd at the inauguration. "To our [Sudanese and Egyptian] brothers; Ethiopia built the dam to prosper, to electrify the entire region and to change the history of black people," Abiy declared, as quoted by Reuters. "It is absolutely not to harm its brothers." The message was clear: Ethiopia views GERD as a shared opportunity, not a threat.
The dam’s potential impact is enormous. At full capacity, GERD is expected to generate 5,100 megawatts of power—more than double Ethiopia’s previous output—enough to supply tens of millions of homes and provide surplus electricity for export to neighboring countries. Water and Energy Minister Habtamu Ifeta told BBC News, "Our intention is by 2030 at least 90% of our nation should get access to electricity." As of 2025, nearly half of Ethiopia’s 135 million people still lacked access to electricity, highlighting the urgent need for such infrastructure.
For rural Ethiopians like Getenesh Gabiso, who lives just outside Hawassa, the dam represents hope for a brighter future. Despite living only 10 kilometers from a major city, her family has long relied on firewood for cooking and kerosene lamps for light. "I want to see light in my house. All the other electric goods don't matter now. Just light in the evening is all I want," she told BBC News. Her husband, Germesa Galcha, worries about the health effects of smoke on their children. The promise of electricity is, for them and millions of others, life-changing.
But the journey to this moment was anything but easy. Young engineer Moges Yeshiwas, who joined the project in 2012, described to BBC News the grueling work: 12-hour shifts in remote, sweltering conditions, separated from his family for months at a time. "Watching the dam's progress day by day was deeply satisfying. I grew attached to the project, worrying about its future as if it were my own," he said. For many, GERD became a rare unifying force in a nation often riven by political violence and ethnic strife.
Yet, as Ethiopia celebrated, anxiety rippled downstream. Both Sudan and Egypt, which depend heavily on the Nile for water, have viewed the GERD with suspicion since its inception. On September 2, 2025, Sudan and Egypt released a joint statement condemning Ethiopia’s "unilateral" actions and warning that the dam posed a "continuous threat to stability," as reported by Al Jazeera. Egypt, which relies on the Nile for about 90% of its fresh water, has argued that the dam could restrict its supply during droughts and violates long-standing water treaties. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry wrote to the United Nations Security Council, stating the inauguration "violated international law," Reuters reported.
Sudan’s concerns are more nuanced. Its Roseires Dam, located about 110 kilometers downstream, could be affected by uncoordinated water releases from GERD. However, there are potential benefits as well. Abdullah Abderrahman, manager of the Roseires Dam, told Al Jazeera that GERD has already helped control overflow and reduced the amount of silt and debris arriving during the rainy season. "Then there is the reduction of the huge amounts of silt and trees that the rainy season used to bring into Roseires, causing its storage capacity to shrink by a third," he said. Experts like Dessalegn Chanie Dagnew of Bahir Dar University argue that, rather than fueling conflict, GERD could foster regional integration and cooperation.
Independent research cited by Reuters shows that, so far, no major disruptions to downstream water flow have been recorded, thanks in part to favorable rainfall and Ethiopia’s cautious approach to filling the reservoir during wet seasons. Still, Egypt and Sudan continue to demand legally binding agreements on the dam’s operation and filling, wary of future risks.
Inside Ethiopia, the sense of accomplishment is palpable. For Sultan Abdulahi Hassan, a farmer living near the dam, the arrival of electricity has transformed daily life. "We now have refrigerators. We can drink cold water. We now use electricity for everything," he told Reuters. Yet, challenges remain. While urban areas boasted a 94% electrification rate as of 2022, only 55% of the overall population had access to power, and extending the grid to remote villages will require tens of thousands of kilometers of new cable.
As the turbines of GERD hum to life, Ethiopia stands at a crossroads: poised to transform its economy, improve millions of lives, and perhaps, with careful diplomacy, turn a source of regional tension into a catalyst for cooperation. For engineer Moges Yeshiwas, the project’s legacy is personal. "I know his future is going to be bright because of something I have contributed, and I am so proud to tell him that when he grows up," he said of his son, born during the years of construction.
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, for all its controversy and complexity, is now a reality—one that will shape the fate of nations along the Nile for generations to come.