An irrigation minister said citizens living near Blue Nile downstream are at risk as Addis Ababa plans to start a second phase of GERD.
Sudanese irrigation minister Yasser Abbas has warned Addis Ababa against filling the second phase of a controversial reservoir without signing an agreement with stakeholders, adding that the move threatens the safety of Sudanese citizens living on the banks of the Blue Nile river.
Ethiopia has held several rounds with Sudan and Egypt, which is feared that the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Revival Dam (GERD) will lead to water shortages in their countries.
His remarks on Monday were made at a meeting with the head of the European Union mission to Sudan Robert van den Dool, and his deputy head Daniel Weiss, Sudan state news agency SUNA reported.
The meeting comes within the framework of briefing foreign ambassadors in Khartoum on the developments in talks between Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia on the long-running controversy over filled and operated the $ 4.6bn mega-dam.
GERD has been a source of tension in the Nile basin ever since Ethiopia collapsed in 2011, with downstream countries – Egypt and Sudan – concerned that it will disrupt vital water supplies.
The long controversy has continued even after the large reservoir behind the 145-meter-high (475-foot) dam began filling up in July.
According to SUNA, Abbas outlined the progress of the talks and the proposals submitted by Sudan to push African Union experts to take a greater place in the talks.
Negotiation without results
A new round of talks between the three neighbors began last month, but they broke down quickly without major disruption. Earlier attempts to resolve the dispute were futile.
After the last round of meaningful meetings between foreign and water ministers, Khartoum objected to what he said as a January 8 letter from Ethiopia to the African Union stating that Ethiopia wanted to fill the reservoir for the second year in July with 13.5 million cubic meters (264 million cubic gallons) of water, whether or not an agreement is reached.
However, Egypt and Ethiopia, in separate statements, blamed Sudan ‘s protests for the framework for the negotiations for the new embargo.
Ethiopia, Africa ‘s second most populous country, said the hydroelectric power produced by the dam will be crucial to meeting the energy needs of its 110 million people and reducing poverty levels.
Egypt, which relies on the Nile for its almost irrigation and drinking water, has seen the dam as a permanent threat.
Khartoum has hoped the Ethiopian dam will control annual floods, but has also warned that millions of lives would be in “grave danger” if an agreement is not reached.
They said the water released from the GERD dam is a “direct threat” to the safety of the Sudan Roseires Dam downstream of the Blue Nile.
The Nile, the longest river in the world, is a lifeline that provides water and electricity to the 10 countries it crosses.
The main tributaries, the White and Blue Nile, converge in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, before running north through Egypt to drain into the Mediterranean Sea.