The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, formerly know as the Millennium Dam and sometimes referred to as Hidase Dam, is gravity dam on the Blue Nile River about 40 km (25 mi) east of Sudan in the Benishangul-Gumuz Region of Ethiopia.[1] At 5250 MW, the dam will be the largest hydroelectric power plant in Africa when completed,[2] and the reservoir at 63 billion cubic meters will be one of the continent's largest.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/0d/MillenniumDamSaliniRendition.jpg

Dam and spillways
Type of dam Gravity, roller-compacted concrete
Height 145 m (476 ft)
Length 1,800 m (5,906 ft)
Impounds Blue Nile River
Reservoir
Creates Millennium Reservoir
Capacity 63,000,000,000 m3 (51,074,931 acre·ft)
Power station
Turbines 15 x 350 MW Francis turbines
Installed capacity 5,250 MW
Net generation 15,000 GWh (planned)

www.grandmillenniumdam.net (http://grandmillenniumdam.net/category/projects/grand-millenium-dam/)

....... Hidase Dam, is gravity dam on the Blue Nile River about 40 km (25 mi) east of Sudan in the Benishangul-Gumuz Region of Ethiopia......

the Sudanese border is about 15 kms along the river from the proposed dam site...

http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/3561/abaydam2.jpg

Nice idea Teklu !this dam is so historical and expensive and huge it deserve its own thread .Actually i think we need a separate thread for the gibe III dam project too.
Anyway the government so far raise 7 billion birr(about 408 million USD) since the dams official inauguration in last april from the public.In my opinion its a big achievement despite the skyrocketing living expense the public giving this much money .



Bloomberg
Ethiopia Sells Bonds to Finance Africa’s Biggest Power Plant
September 29, 2011, 11:21 AM EDT


By William Davison

(Updates with opposition comment in 12th, 13th paragraphs.)

Sept. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Ethiopia plans to offer more bonds to finance Africa’s biggest power plant after selling 7 billion birr ($408 million) of debt domestically over the past six months, Communications Minister Bereket Simon said.

The sale will contribute to the 80 billion birr needed to finish the 5,250-megawatt Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile​ River​, Bereket said in an interview on Sept. 27. The country isn’t raising funds from foreigners in a bid to demonstrate its economic resurgence, he said.

Ethiopia, source of the main tributary of the Nile River, started building the hydropower plant in April as it seeks to become a regional electricity exporter amid shortages in countries including Kenya, Sudan and Uganda. The Horn of Africa nation, which relies on commodities such as coffee for most of its foreign currency, is also diversifying an economy that the African Development Bank says may double in size by 2020.

“Building a dam on the Nile has been the dream of every Ethiopian,” said Bereket, who heads a so-called public mobilization council to raise funds for the project. “For millennia, we have been looking at the Nile as if it has been a curse that took our fertile soil and benefited others while Ethiopia was impoverished.”

Egypt depends on the flow of the Nile for all of its water and historically opposed infrastructure projects by upstream nations during former President Hosni Mubarak’s rule, according to Ethiopia’s government. Since Mubarak was deposed in February, Egyptian and Ethiopian officials have met twice and relations are improving, Bereket said, without elaborating.

Bigger Than Singapore

The hydropower plant is scheduled to be completed by mid- 2017. The project involves building a dam wall 145 meters (476 feet) high and 1.8 kilometers long, before flooding 1,680 square kilometers (649 square miles), an area more than twice the size of Singapore, of mostly uninhabited forest on the Blue Nile in the western Benishangul-Gumuz region.

The government’s plan to borrow 398.4 billion birr by mid- 2015 to invest in industry and infrastructure may lead to the economy over-heating and debt problems, the World Bank​ said in June. Annual inflation in Ethiopia was 40.6 percent in August, partly because the central bank boosted money supply.

Ethiopia, Africa’s second-most populous nation, has been ruled by former rebel Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s ruling party since 1991 when the military junta of Mengistu Haile Mariam​ was overthrown. The economy, which ranks as Africa’s fourth-biggest, grew 9.9 percent in 2009, the fastest rate on the continent.

Sufficient Capacity

“The financial capacity to build the dam I don’t think should be in doubt at all,” Zemedeneh Negatu, managing partner for Ernst & Young LLP in Ethiopia, said in an interview on Sept. 22. “Over the next six years, Ethiopia can collect from taxes somewhere between 450 and 500 billion birr.”

Donations of a month’s salary by civil servants have been converted into bonds to help boost the nation’s savings rate, currently 5.5 percent of gross domestic product, Bereket said. Public funding is unlikely to be maintained as it would be “too taxing,” so private companies have been encouraged to buy the debt, which offers a coupon of 5 percent.

There are also plans for bonds to be offered to the Ethiopian diaspora with returns above the London Interbank Offered Rate, while sales to farmers are planned “early next year,” he said.

Opposition Criticism

The opposition Oromo People’s Congress criticized the fund- raising methods being used for what it said is an otherwise popular project.

“In a university of several thousand, the president said because five people spoke they all agreed to donate one month’s salary,” Merera Gudina, chairman of the opposition OPC and professor of political science at Addis Ababa University, said in an interview in the capital on Sept. 21.

A “significant” portion of funding will also come from the government’s development budget, Bereket said. A National Bank of Ethiopia directive issued in April compelling banks to buy government bonds equivalent to 27 percent of their loans each month may raise 11 billion birr for development programs in its first year, according to Access Capital, the Addis Ababa- based research group. That amount is likely to increase in subsequent years, it said in an April research note.

Ethiopia will generate most of the electricity that will be traded among nine countries that are expected to connect to a regional grid by 2016, according to the Eastern Africa Power Pool, an Addis Ababa-based body that facilitates regional integration. The country started exports to Djibouti in May, a transmission line to Sudan may be completed by January and a feasibility study for a link to Kenya has been finished.

The dam, situated about 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the Sudanese border, is “very critical” for Ethiopia to achieve its industrialization goals and for neighboring states, said Zemedeneh.

--Editors: Paul Richardson, Ana Monteiro.

To contact the reporter on this story: William Davison in Addis Ababa via Nairobi at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Paul Richardson in Nairobi at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net.


http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-09-29/ethiopia-sells-bonds-to-finance-africa-s-biggest-power-plant.html

@abenet u right my friend specially for GIBE III DAM there is more than enough info to start separate trend and i will try to collect the info and the isuue concerning the project and try to creat a well organized trend.

Machinery for Ethiopian Dam arrives at Djibouti

Some of the machinery ordered by the Ethiopian government for the building of the Renaissance Dam started arriving in Port Djibouti. The machines that arrived at Port of Djibouti and are ready for transport were imported primarily from the United States and Italy.

A couple of US made Caterpillar family trucks, (990) at a cost of 1.5 million dollars each and Italian Astra machinery (including RD 40 and RD 50) at a cost of 250,00 euros each are currently at Port Djibouti awaiting transport to the project site. The imported machinery consists of bulldozers, dumpers, rollers, graders as well as other heavy duty machines to be utilized in the construction of the Dam said Mr. Pierre Kothari, Agent for Salini Contractors in Djibouti, on Wednesday.

The machines being imported are the latest and best of their kind added Mr Kothari. The Salini representative asked that the Customs Authority and other involved agencies to assist in the speedy transport of the machines to the project site.

The imported machinery is expected to play an important in the construction of the dam as well as other projects across the country according to Engineer Semgnew Bekele, Manager of the dam construction project.

After the completion of the Great Renaissance Dam the Ethiopian government is planning to construct other dams on the Nile as part of produce 20,000 megawatts of power within the next ten years part of a plan to spend 12 billion dollars over 25 years to raise power generating capability.

source (http://www.2merkato.com/20111010429/machinery-for-ethiopian-dam-arrive-at-djibouti)

^^ From ETV news on Oct 10, 2011 the arrival of heavy machinery for the construction of Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in the Djibouti port :banana:

80xp0jq_gD4&feature=related

I thought they were still looking for finance for the Dam?. Isnt this costing $8 billion dollars? I hope they are building up the transmission network in the country and to neghbouring nations to cope with this power.

I thought they were still looking for finance for the Dam?. Isnt this costing $8 billion dollars? I hope they are building up the transmission network in the country and to neghbouring nations to cope with this power.
A small portion of the needed financing has been secured through the sales of bonds, enough to get the project going I guess since they've been working around the clock for months. I don't know how they plan to get rest, it's an extremely expensive project for a country like Ethiopia, but the government seems determined to succeed. Time will tell I guess..

Most of the money collected for this has essentially been by extortion ...bullying staff to give up a months salary and busines to buy bonds ..what is going to happen in future years ... the language of the government is like george orwells 1984 Novel ........

ETV News - Abay Dam Progress

http://www.ethiotube.net/video/16333/ETV-News--Abay-Dam-Progress

^^ nice. I really like that head engineering (geologist?) guy, he seems to be on top of things..very knowledgeable.

Ethio Ferenji,
i still do not believe if this story is really true. And as to forcing people to give their salaries i have heard horror stories. US and UK are doing this all to us, after all they brought the regime to power and they keep it there now for over 20 years.

Most of the money collected for this has essentially been by extortion ...bullying staff to give up a months salary and busines to buy bonds ..what is going to happen in future years ... the language of the government is like george orwells 1984 Novel ........

"Transforming the Desert - Progress update on the construction of Grand Abay Dam"

http://www.ethiotube.net/video/16638/Transforming-the-Desert--Progress-update-on-the-construction-of-Grand-Abay-Dam

"Transforming the Desert - Progress update on the construction of Grand Abay Dam"

http://www.ethiotube.net/video/16638/Transforming-the-Desert--Progress-update-on-the-construction-of-Grand-Abay-Dam

If they continue in the same speed they might finish the project on schedule as long as there is no financial constraint. Let's pray for that.

Ethiopia upgrades Africa's biggest dam
Ethiopia on Monday said it plans to upgrade the electricity generating capacity of Africa's biggest dam project, from 5,250 megawatts (MW) to 6000 MW after revising designs.

The "Millennium Dam on the Nile", a mega hydro electric project, was launched last year with a $ 5 billion investment amid a diplomatic row between Ethiopia and Egypt. Egypt had expressed fears that the project over the Nile River would affect the water flow.

The design change, which sees an increase of 750 MW, follows months of negotiations between the two countries.

Ethiopia is the largest contributor to the Nile's water whilst Egypt is the biggest consumer of the water resource among the riparian countries thanks to colonial era agreements between the North African country and Britain, its former colonial power.

According to the Ethiopian government the design work will help to save more than $ 200 million from the initially estimated cost of $ 5 billion.

A source close to a national committee established to oversee works on the dam said that the project will be completed as scheduled. The project, which will be implemented in least four years, will see its first phase completed and start generating power in the next two years.

Upon completion of the first phase of Millennium Dam, two of its units will start generating an initial 700 MW.

Ethiopia hopes to boost energy exports to neighbouring states including Kenya, Sudan and South Sudan. Djibouti started importing power from Ethiopia some four months ago.

The "Millennium Dam On the Nile", which Ethiopia claims to be the first of its kind in Africa, will cover 40 Km by 40 km on the Nile River and hold 62 billion cubic meters of water.
http://www.theafricareport.com/index.php/20120319501807522/east-horn-africa/ethiopia-upgrades-africa-s-biggest-dam-501807522.html

^^good news :banana:But isn't called the grand rennaisance dam :nuts:

[youtube]tc8dl6E5i3w[/youytube]

tc8dl6E5i3w

Ethiopia upgrades Africa's biggest dam

Good news! I saw that on ESTV (Ethiopian Somali TV), really exciting to hear this...Now hurry with this project and sell us the excess water, we are facing water shortages here

The inauguration of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance hydro-electric generating dam one year celebration is going on all over the country and the construction is continue with full steam.In the past one year this dam help Ethiopia and its Nile sharing countries to have some kind of agreement and lots of talks.The good thing is the talk of war is out of quesion (even in this forum I remember last year we were talken about how many tanks and fighter planes we have :lol:).While Egypt is cautious for its move ,Sudan already gives its support and donate 10 Million Dollars worth heavy machinery construction equipment.This news talks about the past one year progress on the dam :cheers:



One year on, Ethiopians still dazzled by Project X


By Kirubel Tadesse



Monday, 09 April 2012 09:06


The next leader in waiting, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hailemariam Desalegn says the support for the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam needs to be sustained if the nation is to reap from what would be Africa’s largest hydro power plant.
Speaking before a crowd that filled the Addis Ababa Stadium on April 1, Hailemariam who chairs the National Coordination Council for the Renaissance Dam says the work has only just started.
The city residents like many others across the nation last Sunday marked the first anniversary of the launch of the audacious project with various events including a team of artists taking on governmental officials in a football match, and defeating them three to nil, much to the amusement of the public.
The first year anniversary did not pass without its own headline.
The government says some 13 percent of the construction of the Grand Renaissance Dam is expected to be completed at the end of this Ethiopian fiscal year which ends by July, 8. However, most importantly, revisions on the project studies reveal that the Dam being constructed will have the capacity to generate 6,000 MW of electrical power; significantly above the 5,250 first announced.:cheers:
Project X
Project X was its code name at inception. Some got wind of it despite senior cabinet ministers and leading experts maintaining sealed lips.
During a press conference in the early days of 2011, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi was confronted with a question probing details regarding ‘a major project about to be launched’ on the Abay (Nile) River.
Meles shelved out a confirmation or denial. But he said a public announcement was soon coming.
A few days later Meles unveiled what his diehard fans are now saying would be his greatest legacy: the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.
The Millennium Dam
On 30 March 2011, Alemayehu Tegenu, then Minister of Water and Energy, for the first time provided details about the project.
The project, dubbed as the Millennium Dam marking the Ethiopian third millennia braced in 2007 as per Ethiopian calendar, will produce 5, 250 mega watts on completion, the minister told journalists.
The dam will be the largest hydroelectric power plant in the continent, the seventh globally.
A day after the project was made public; a 4.8 billion dollar contract was awarded to Salini Costruttori. The contractor has long ties with the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo) which also awarded the Italian firm the currently under construction, Gilgel Gibe III hydro power project. The firm recently completed Gilgel Gibe I, Gilgel Gibe II, and the country’s largest power plant Tana Beles dam.
The dam, a reservoir at 63 billion cubic meters, or simply put twice as big as Lake Tana, would be located on the Blue Nile River about 25Km east of Sudan in the Benishangul-Gumuz Region of Ethiopia.
Anxiety arose as to why the dam is ‘too close to the border’ and how the neighboring Sudan, and even more worryingly the country’s old foe Egypt might take the news that caught them by surprise.
The Grand Renaissance Dam
The dawn of April saw a flock of ministers, ruling party leaders, the nation’s elites and senior members of the diplomatic corps all in Guba Woreda in Benishangul Gumuz state.
Broadcasted live on all state run transmissions, the Millennium Dam’s foundation stone was laid by no other than PM Meles, now dubbed as ‘the leader who dared the Nile’.
But soon the Millennium Dam would change its name.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, while announcing his party’s choice for the Prime Minister post in 2010 before the parliament floor, described Meles as an initiator of the country’s renaissance.
The country’s 3,000 year old history would do nothing but create rage for the new generation as to how we ended up being a recipient of food aid and a definition of famine, Meles once told his party colleagues.
After releasing the opposition leaders who had shaken his party’s dominance for the first time, Meles danced off the third Ethiopian millennium in September 2007.
Ever since then talk came about realizing the country’s renaissance, a route back to prosperity. Government pardons to the opposition, which later proved more controversial than first perceived, were even praised by the popular pop star Teddy Afro who raised the country’s spirits with the popular ‘Abebayoshe….We started in reconciliation’ hit single.
Two years in a making, a five year economic Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP), surfaced right before the ruling party assumed another five year term in power in September, 2010. The plan was officially announced as phase to the renaissance. Thus it was inevitable the much hyped project in the GTP also followed suit; the Millennium Dam became the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.
Sons of Renaissance
Bereket Simon, a senior cabinet minister, distinguishes his party leader and followers from the likes of Siye Abraha, as children of the Renaissance, in his book said edited by Meles, twice.
The Addis Ababa city also wanted to brace “lucky” new borns with the name Hidase; about 26 children born last Sunday, the first anniversary of the project launch, are all named Hidase, Amharic for renaissance.:lol:
Financing ambition
From the early day’s announcements along came a call to the public to help the government finance the dam’s estimated cost of 4.8 billion dollars. This is reportedly being reduced with some inputs undertaken by local resources.
“Using its standing in multilateral financial institutions and the donor community, Egyptian leadership constantly campaigns to block any provision of loans and grants to Ethiopia intended to development projects centered on the Nile,” Alemayehu Tegenu said announcing the project, also indicating why the self financing route is the only way to go.
Later, bond sales were well received by the public aimed at raising funds to cover the dam’s cost. In a rather tacit approval from most state employees, including Meles, they gave their one month salary to the dam which later dramatically were transferred as purchase of bonds.
While locally people are being drawn to buy bonds in birr, the Ethiopian Diaspora are also being enticed to purchase bonds in USD, Euro and Pound Sterling. Some are doing fine; Ambassador Girma Birru’s office, the Ethiopian Embassy in Washington DC, sold half a million dollars worth of forex bonds in just two months after launching the initiative.
Diplomatic concerns
Egypt is still wary of the project. But Sudan came on board with Sudanese President Omar Hassan Ahmad Al-Bashir even vowing his country will provide the necessary support towards the successful construction of the dam.
To address Cairo’s concerns, a tripartite committee - made of up Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan’s senior ministers aided by experts was initiated and is now studying the dam’s overall construction and impact.
The committee, which consists of two experts from each country and four foreign professionals, convened its first meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The second meeting will be held in Sudan.
The committee was established on the basis of the pact signed by Sudan, Ethiopia and Egypt to form a team that reviews the benefit and impact of the dam.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.capitalethiopia.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=843:one-year-on-ethiopians-still-dazzled-by-project-x&catid=54:news&Itemid=27

Ethiopia powers on with controversial dam project
By Victoria Eastwood and Nima Elbagir, CNN
May 31, 2012

(video) http://edition.cnn.com/2012/05/31/business/ethiopia-grand-renaissance-dam/index.html

(CNN) -- The waters of the Blue Nile have for millennia flowed down from the Ethiopian highlands enriching the countries on its banks.

The rocks that make up its riverbed have been eroded by Ethiopia's past and now that the construction of Africa's largest hydro-electric dam has begun, these same rocks are helping to build the country's future.

The Grand Renaissance Dam project was announced last year by the Ethiopian government, in a unilateral move that is not sitting very well with its upstream neighbors. Egypt and Sudan say Ethiopia is threatening their greatest natural resource.

What's undisputed though is the sheer size of this undertaking close to Ethiopia's border with Sudan.

"It's not very easy to build a project of this magnitude in a remote area," explains Francesco Verdi, who oversees this project for Salini, the Italian construction firm that has been contracted by the Ethiopians to build the dam.

According to Verdi, 10% of the dam has been completed so far and teams are working day and night to stay on schedule.

"This is one of the largest dams in the world," Verdi says. "The effort of this country is really, really impressive. They will produce clean energy using natural resources."

More from MPA: Kenya PM: Sudan conflict threatens world oil prices

If construction stays on schedule the dam will be complete in six years. Ethiopia says the dam will generate 6,000 mega watts of electricity and it will sell a proportion of that to its neighbors and use the rest to fuel its own growth.

Semegnew Bekele is the Ethiopian engineer in charge of overseeing this mammoth project. He has worked on three other dams in Ethiopia, but this will be his and his country's first attempt at damming the Blue Nile.

"This Nile river originates from our country and flows without giving any benefit to us so now we are able to utilize this river," he explains.

Meeting Bekele, it becomes obvious that this project is a source of immense personal and national pride and in Ethiopia at least he has become a bit of a celebrity -- he regularly gets stopped in the street by people congratulation him on the dam and asking how it is progressing.

It might be a source of pride for Bekele and Ethiopia, but for Egypt and Sudan this project is deeply contentious.

Egypt with its population time bomb is particularly worried -- nearly 85% of its water originates in Ethiopia. Egyptians say they will not be held hostage over water, explains Yarcob Arsarno, who is an expert on hydro-politics at Addis Ababa University.

"Sudan and Egypt have got their concerns. Building a huge project on the water that goes down to Sudan, they would think that water would be controlled by Ethiopia and Ethiopia would be much more powerful in terms of influence in the Nile basin."

The Nile Treaty that is meant to govern the use of the Blue Nile between the three nations was in fact signed by colonial powers in the region. Ethiopia says it never signed the agreement and the so-called Nile Basin Initiative only provides a framework for the use of the Nile waters.

More from MPA: Using the web to fight corruption

Egypt and Sudan are particularly worried that this dam will allow Ethiopia to control the flow of water. Ethiopia denies this and says it will use machines to monitor and ensure the flow remains stable.

Ethiopia's Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has dismissed these concerns and warned against what he called "dam extremists."

Zenawi and his government stress that this dam project could potentially transform Ethiopia's economy. It is a view shared by some of the diplomatic community in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital. One diplomat told Marketplace Africa that this dam will be "like an ATM of hard currency for Ethiopia". Many economists also agree on the dam's economic potential.

See also: Old car tires fuel green shoe revolution

"Hydropower is the cheapest electricity you can generate anywhere so Ethiopia has huge advantages for that and Ethiopia will export enough power to make a difference in the economy," says Henock Assefa, an economist and managing partner of Precise Consult International based in Addis Ababa.

"This is a signal of self-reliance. This is a signal of Ethiopia moving from an aid dependent economy to a can-do economy. We're going to do this with or without you. The Ethiopian government is issuing bonds and the population, all 85 million of us, are buying bonds in order to chip in to this huge Nile project."

But will Ethiopia be able to raise enough money to continue to build this dam? Some economists believe the country has only raised 10% of the project's total cost. There are also reports that civil servants have been forced to contribute one month's salary towards the project. These are accusations the government denies.

International Rivers, an organization working against destructive riverside projects, says that the Ethiopian government has not allowed an open discussion about the funding and merits of this dam. International Rivers points to the case of an Ethiopian journalist Reeyot Alemu who has been jailed for daring to criticize the government's centerpiece project. Ethiopian authorities say Alemu is on trial over terror charges.

What is not up for debate is how determined Ethiopia is to fulfill its aspiration as the "battery of East Africa."

All over Addis Ababa, new buildings are rising. According the African Development Bank, Ethiopia's economy last year grew by 7.5% and although inflation also rose to 31.5% the country has successful grown its average income by 50% over the past decade.

The International Monetary Fund, though, is ringing alarm bells. Given this region's history of drought, the IMF is recommending that governments avoid dependency on hydropower as an engine of growth.

As they dig into ancient bedrock for their futuristic dam, it seems the Ethiopians believe this is a risk worth taking.

i wonder if they could raise money based on future receipts of power sales to other nations. i doubt ethiopia can even absorb half the power generated, even by 2018, so the scope for export is huge.

i wonder if they could raise money based on future receipts of power sales to other nations. i doubt ethiopia can even absorb half the power generated, even by 2018, so the scope for export is huge.

Indeed! There is already a plan to sell power to Sudan upto 300 MW ,for Egypt more than 1,000 MW and South Sudan unknown amount but there is discusion going on .So out of the total 6,000 MW atleast 1/3 is for sell, and our demand is growing more than 25% per year which means we have to double the amount we generate right now which is 2,140 MW in 4 years.So our economy also absorb a substantial amount of that generated power.

I doing my part gave $20 yesterday lol
I'm going to work out the details of the bond thing today.

^^ Good idea ,I already bought a $500 Dollar bond when Ambassador Girma Birru came to Atlanta :cheers:

The Grand rennaisance Dam is constructing with a three shift 24 hours a day.


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የህዳሴ ግድብ ግንባታ ‘በሶስት ፈረቃዎች ለ24 ሰዓታት’ እየተከናወነ ነው [Amharic]

Posted by fromothermedia on Wednesday, June 6, 2012 @ 11:23 pm ·

የታላቁ የኢትዮጵያ ህዳሴ ግድብ ግንባታ በተፋጠነ መልኩ እየተካሄደ ነው። ዋናው ግድብ በሚያርፍበት ስፍራ እየተካሄደ ባለው ቁፋሮም 3 ነጥብ 5 ሚሊየን ሜትር ኪዩብ ልል አፈርና ድንጋይ ተነስቷል።

በሰዓት 8 መቶ ሜትር ኪዩብ አርማታ ማምረት የሚያስችሉ ግዙፍ ፋብሪካዎች ተከላም ግድቡ በሚያርፍበት የወንዙ ግራና ቀኝ እየተካሄደ እንደሚገኝ የግድቡ ፕሮጄክት ማናጀር ኢንጂነር ስመኘው በቀለ ለፋና ብሮድካስቲንግ ኮርፖሬት ተናግረዋል።

ታላቁን ግዳጅ ለመወጣት ከሚያስፈልገው የሰው ሃይል 4 ሺው ስፍራው ላይ ይገኛል። ከእነዚህ ውስጥ 120ዎቹ ባህር አቋርጠው የታላቁ ታሪክ ተካፋይ ለመሆን የመጡ ባለሙያዎች ናቸው። ስራው በሶስት ፈረቃዎች ያለማቋረጥ ለ24 ሰዓታት እየተከናወነ ይገኛል።

ይህ ሁሉ እየሆነ ያለው አንድ አመትን በተሻገረው የታላቁ የኢትዮጵያ ህዳሴ ግድብ ግንባታ ስፍራ ነው። የግድቡ ፕሮጄክት ማናጀር ኢንጂነር ስመኘው በቀለ እንደነገሩን ግንባታው በተያዘለት እቅድ መሰረት ተግባራዊ እየተደረገ ይገኛል።

ከዋናው ግድብ አንጻር ግድቡ የሚያርፍበትን ቦታ ለማመቻቸት እየተካሄደ ባለው ቁፋሮ 3 ነጥብ 5 ሚሊየን ሜትር ኪዩብ ልል አፈርና ድንጋይ ተነስቷል። ግድቡ በሚያርፍበት መሬት ላይ ሲካሄድ የነበረው የከርሰ ምድር ፍተሻ ስራም መቶ በመቶ ተጠናቋል። ግንባታውን ለማቀላጠፍ የሚያግዙ ከ7 መቶ በላይ ግዙፍ ማሽነሪዎችም ግዳጃቸውን ያለማቋረጥ እየተወጡ ይገኛሉ።

በዚህ ግዙፍ የግንባታ ሂደት የሚያስፈልገውን በርካታ መጠን ያለውን ኮንክሪት ለማምረት ግድቡ በሚያርፍበት የወንዙ ግራና ቀኝ የአርማታ ማምረቻ ፋብሪካዎች ተከላም እየተካሄደ ነው።

ለዚህ የአርማታ ምርት የሚያስፈልገው የጠጠር ግብዓት ደረጃውን በጠበቀና በአስተማማኝ ክምችት እዛው በግንባታዉ ስፍራ ተገኝቷል።

ይህንን ክምችት ደግሞ በሚፈለገው መልኩ በሰዓት 2 ሺ ቶን የመሚያመርት የድንጋይ ወፍጮም እየተተከለ ይገኛል።

ለዋናው የግድቡ ግንባታ የወንዙን አቅጣጫ የማስቀየር ስራም ተጀምሯል።

ኢንጂነር ስመኘው እንዳሉት በተለይ መጪውን ክረምት ተከትሎ የሚፈጠረው የወንዙ ሙላት ስራውን እንዳያስተጓጉል ከወዲሁ አስፈላጊ ስራዎች እየተከናወኑ ይገኛሉ።

የግድቡ ግንባታው በየቀኑ ልዩነቱ በሚታይ መልኩ እየተከናወነ ይገኛል ያሉት ኢንጂነር ስመኘው የአሁኑ ክረምት ከመድረሱ በፊትም ዙሪያ ጥምጥም የሚያስኬደውን ጉዞ የሚያስቀረው ድልድይ ግንባታ ሙሉ በሙሉ እንደሚጠናቀቅ ተናግረዋል።



From Daniel Berhane's blog http://danielberhane.wordpress.com/2012/06/06/%E1%8B%A8%E1%88%85%E1%8B%B3%E1%88%B4-%E1%8C%8D%E1%8B%B5%E1%89%A5-%E1%8C%8D%E1%8A%95%E1%89%A3%E1%89%B3-%E1%89%A0%E1%88%B6%E1%88%B5%E1%89%B5-%E1%8D%88%E1%88%A8%E1%89%83%E1%8B%8E%E1%89%BD/

Ethiopia's dams bring rebirth and power to East Africa

http://www.theafricareport.com/images/stories/ethiopiadamconstruction.jpg

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Blue Nile River, close to the border with Sudan, will transform Ethiopia into an East African power hub.

The dam will have an installed capacity of 6GW and generate around 15,000 GWh annually by mid-2017.

Ethiopia is already a regional power player: exports to Djibouti began in May 2011 and transmission lines to Sudan and Kenya are being laid.

Perhaps the most ambitious aspect of the 80bn birr ($4.5bn) GERD venture is the financing mechanism.

"The government has declared that is not going to ask for loans or donations for this project," says communications minister Bereket Simon.

Much of the money for the construction, which began in April last year and is being carried out by Italian firm Salini Costruttori, has been raised in what one analyst described as the "quasi-forced" sale of treasury bonds with a 5% coupon rate over a five-year period.

Timeline: Completion due by mid-2017
Costs: $4.5bn
Probability: 90% – Addis has staked much on it

By September 2011, 7bn birr had been pledged by private companies, their employees and civil servants who voluntarily purchased one month's salary worth of bonds.

The sale has been extended to the diaspora and farmers. Bereket anticipates that this will bring in an additional 5bn birr.

Additional unspecified funds will be generated by a May 2011 central bank directive compelling commercial banks to purchase National Bank of Ethiopia bonds worth 27% of their loan disbursements.

This funding strategy seems to have been a necessity, as potential partners like the World Bank, the European Investment Bank and the African Development Bank have been wary about investing in GERD.

This followed their withdrawal in 2010 from the Gibe III Dam on the Omo River as a result of a widely criticised environ mental impact assessment.

Potential conflict with the other Blue Nile riparian states has also discouraged investors, according to some NGOs.

Zemedeneh Negatu, the managing partner of Ernst & Young in Ethiopia, says he is confident that international financial institutions will come on board.

He cites the World Bank's decision on 12 July to finance the Eastern Electricity Highway Project, which will connect Ethiopia's electrical grid with Kenya's, as an indication of tacit support for GERD●
http://www.theafricareport.com/20121102501820994/east-horn-africa/ethiopias-dams-bring-rebirth-and-power-to-east-africa-501820994.html

The bridge just down stream of the GERD future dam :banana:

http://www.eepco.gov.et/gallery-images/IMG_4154.gif

http://www.eepco.gov.et/gallery-images/IMG_4156.gif

Concrete mixing unit under assembly

http://www.eepco.gov.et/gallery-images/IMG_4159.gif

http://www.eepco.gov.et/gallery-images/IMG_4164.gif

http://www.eepco.gov.et/gallery-images/IMG_4166.gif

http://www.eepco.gov.et/gallery-images/IMG_4200.gif

http://www.eepco.gov.et/gallery.php

Indeed! There is already a plan to sell power to Sudan upto 300 MW ,for Egypt more than 1,000 MW and South Sudan unknown amount but there is discusion going on .So out of the total 6,000 MW atleast 1/3 is for sell, and our demand is growing more than 25% per year which means we have to double the amount we generate right now which is 2,140 MW in 4 years.So our economy also absorb a substantial amount of that generated power.

With all these planned dams Ethiopia will have a huge power surplus. The issue is whether there is a market for it.
Egypt is 100% electrified which goes largely to explains their lack of enthusiasm for the project and Sudan is heading in that direction. The fact is if neighboring countries are to import from Ethiopia it has to be cheaper than powering their own power stations.

With all these planned dams Ethiopia will have a huge power surplus. The issue is whether there is a market for it.
Egypt is 100% electrified which goes largely to explains their lack of enthusiasm for the project and Sudan is heading in that direction. The fact is if neighboring countries are to import from Ethiopia it has to be cheaper than powering their own power stations.

Eighty six percent of Egypt's source of energy is fossil fuel according to CIA Factbook. I am sure if they import electricity from Ethiopia it would be much cheaper for them.

Eighty six percent of Egypt's source of energy is fossil fuel according to CIA Factbook. I am sure if they import electricity from Ethiopia it would be much cheaper for them.

If importing Ethiopian electricity is cheaper than running existing power stations then it makes perfect sense. However, Sudan and Egypt aren't going to mothball plants unless they make a saving by doing so.

Ethiopia probably has the cheapest electricity in the region. I know that Djibouti are saving a lot by importing and so will Kenya.

Ethiopia probably has the cheapest electricity in the region. I know that Djibouti are saving a lot by importing and so will Kenya.

Ethiopia is advertising exports at 7 cents a kwh, whether that's a saving is dependent on fuel prices.
Any one have any idea of the yields offered on these millenium bonds?

The second year anniversary of the start of The GERD is going on in Ethiopia.So far 18% of the civil work on the dam completed, and they are preparing to divert the river from its natural flow and start the construction of the main dam :cheers:


07 April 2013 ተጻፈ በ ውድነህ ዘነበ
ከዓባይ ግድብ የግንባታ ወጪ ላይ 5.5 ቢሊዮን ብር ቅናሽ ተደረገ


- ለኃይል ማስተላለፊያ መስመሮች ገንዘብ ለማቅረብ የውጭ ድርጅቶች ፍላጎት አሳዩ

መንግሥት የታላቁን የህዳሴ ግድብ ከሚገነባው የጣሊያኑ ሳሊኒ ኮንስትራክሽን ኩባንያ ጋር ባካሄደው ተደጋጋሚ ውይይት፣ ለግድቡ ከሚወጣው 80 ቢሊዮን ብር ውስጥ 5.5 ቢሊዮን ብር ማስቀነስ መቻሉን ምንጮች ገለጹ፡፡

ከሳሊኒ ኮንስትራክሽን ኩባንያ ጋር ውይይቱን ሲያካሂድ የቆየው መንግሥት በቀድሞው ዲዛይን ላይ ማሻሻያዎች እንዲደረጉ ስምምነት ላይ በመድረስ ውጤታማ መሆኑ ይነገራል፡፡ በዚህም ቀደም ሲል ግድቡ ያመነጫል ተብሎ ከታቀደው በ750 ሜጋ ዋት ብልጫ ያለው ኃይል ማመንጨት እንዲቻል ተደርጓል ተብሏል፡፡ ምንጮች እንደገለጹት 750 ሜጋ ዋት ኃይል ለማመንጨት 10 ቢሊዮን ብር ያስፈልግ ነበር፡፡ በተካሄዱ ተደጋጋሚ ውይይቶች መንግሥት በድምሩ 5.5 ቢሊዮን ብር ማትረፍ መቻሉን ከታላቁ ህዳሴ ግድብ ማስተባበሪያ ብሔራዊ ምክር ቤት የተገኘው መረጃ ያመለክታል፡፡

የቀድሞው ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትር መለስ ዜናዊ መጋቢት 24 ቀን 2003 ዓ.ም. የግድቡን መጀመር በይፋ ካበሰሩ ጀምሮ፣ እስካሁን ድረስ ሕዝቡ የ9.2 ቢሊዮን ብር ቦንድ ለመግዛት ቃል ገብቷል፡፡ መረጃዎች እንደሚጠቁሙት ከዚህ ገንዘብ ውስጥ አራት ቢሊዮን ብር ተሰብስቧል፡፡
ይህ ገንዘብ በአብዛኛው የተሰበሰበው ከሠራተኞችና ከንግዱ ማኅበረሰብ አባላት ነው፡፡ መንግሥት ባወጣው አዲስ ዕቅድ መሠረት በዚህ ዓመት አርሶ አደሩና አርብቶ አደሩ ወደሚገኝበት የገጠሩ ክፍል በጥልቀት ገብቶ ለግድቡ የሚሆን በርካታ ገንዘብ ይሰበሰባል ተብሏል፡፡

በዓባይ ወንዝ ላይ የሚገነባው ግድብ ሙሉ በሙሉ ወጪው የሚሸፈነው በኢትዮጵያ መንግሥትና ሕዝብ ነው፡፡ ገንዘብ የማሰባሰቡ ሥራ በአብዛኛው አተኩሮ የነበረው በከተሞችና ውጭ አገር በሚኖሩ ኢትዮጵያውያን ላይ ነው፡፡ መንግሥት የሚመካበት የገጠሩ ሕዝብ በገንዘብ መዋጮ በኩል ብዙም ተሳታፊ ሳይሆን ቆይቷል፡፡ አዲስ በተያዘው ዕቅድ የቦንድ ሽያጩ በተለይ ወደ አርሶ አደሩና አርብቶ አደሩ አካባቢ እንደሚስፋፋ ለማወቅ ተችሏል፡፡

ምንጮች እንደሚገልጹት፣ ለዓባይ ግድብ ከውጭ ብድር ባይገኝም ለኃይል ማከፋፈያ ጣቢያ ግንባታ የውጭ አገር አበዳሪዎች ገንዘብ ለማቅረብ ፍላጎት አሳይተዋል፡፡ መረጃዎች እንደሚጠቁሙት ግድቡ ከሚገነባበት ቦታ በ1.4 ኪሎ ሜትር ርቀት ላይ 500 ሺሕ ኪሎ ቮልት መሸከም የሚችል የኃይል ማከፋፈያ ይገነባል፡፡ ግንባታው ወደ ትራንስፎርመሮች የሚገባውን የመነጨ ኃይልና ወደ ማስተላለፊያ መስመሮች የሚወጣውን ኃይል መቆጣጠርያ ክፍሎችን ያካትታል፡፡

የኢትዮጵያ ኤሌክትሪክ ኃይል ኮርፖሬሽን ዋና ሥራ አስፈጻሚ አቶ ምሕረት ደበበ እንደገለጹት፣ የትራንስሚሽን መስመሮች ግንባታ በቅርብ ይጀመራል፡፡ ይህ ግንባታ ወደ አገር ውስጥና ወደ ውጭ የኤሌክትሪክ ኃይል የሚያስተላልፉ መስመሮችን የሚያካትት ሲሆን፣ ለግንባታው የሚያስፈልገውን ገንዘብ ለማቅረብ የውጭ ፋይናንስ አቅራቢዎች በከፍተኛ ደረጃ ፍላጎታቸውን እያሳዩ ነው ብለዋል፡፡

የፕሮጀክቱ ዶክመንት ተዘጋጅቶ ለአበዳሪዎች መቅረቡንና ከአበዳሪዎቹ በኩልም ፕሮጀክቱን ፋይናንስ ለማድረግ ከፍተኛ መነሳሳት መታየቱን አቶ ምሕረት አስረድተዋል፡፡

በአሁኑ ወቅት የግድቡ የሲቪል ምህንድስና ሥራው በ18 በመቶ መጠናቀቁ ይታወቃል፡፡ የኤሌክትሮ ሜካኒካልና የኃይድሮሊክ ስትራክቸር ሥራው ዲዛይን በመደረግ ላይ ይገኛል፡፡ የዲዛይን ሥራውን የሚያካሂደው የብረታ ብረትና ኢንጂነሪንግ ኮርፖሬሽን ነው፡፡ ኮርፖሬሽኑ የሠራው ዲዛይን በህዳሴ ግድብ ፕሮጀክት ጽሕፈት ቤትና በአማካሪ መሐንዲሱ እየተመረመረ ይገኛል፡፡

የኮርፖሬሽኑ ዲዛይን ተቀባይነት ካገኘ ኢትዮጵያ ለመጀመርያ ጊዜ በአነስተኛ የኃይድሮ ሜካኒካል ሥራዎች ሳትፈተን ግዙፍ ሥራ በመሥራት ዘርፉን ለመቀላቀል እንደምትችል የባለሙያዎች እምነት ሆኗል፡፡




http://www.ethiopianreporter.com/index.php/news/item/1377-%E1%8A%A8%E1%8B%93%E1%89%A3%E1%8B%AD-%E1%8C%8D%E1%8B%B5%E1%89%A5-%E1%8B%A8%E1%8C%8D%E1%8A%95%E1%89%A3%E1%89%B3-%E1%8B%88%E1%8C%AA-%E1%88%8B%E1%8B%AD-55-%E1%89%A2%E1%88%8A%E1%8B%AE%E1%8A%95-%E1%89%A5%E1%88%AD-%E1%89%85%E1%8A%93%E1%88%BD-%E1%89%B0%E1%8B%B0%E1%88%A8%E1%8C%88

Yoni and Kitayabi,

Here is a link to World Bank East Africa Power Pool project. You can find the projections of saving for Kenya and revenues for Ethiopia on the power sale from Eth to Ken. http://www.worldbank.org/projects/P126579/regional-eastern-africa-power-pool-project-apl1?lang=en
The results section shows you projected savings and earnings for 2018

A scenario where fuel prices are so low that it is easier than hydropower is quite unlikely... Fuel demand is always increasing and price drops of such magnitude that would make fossil fuel electricity cheaper is unrealisitic. BTW Egypts oil production has peaked years ago (in 1990s) and consumption increasing with the gap widening, so the demand for electricity in North Africa itself is a huge market. The real reason for Egypt and Sudan's opposition to the Dam is fear that their water supply will decline.

I have no info on the yields of the Dam bonds, but might be 5.5% as that is what gov't bonds yield in Eth.

Ethiopia is advertising exports at 7 cents a kwh, whether that's a saving is dependent on fuel prices.
Any one have any idea of the yields offered on these millenium bonds?

it seems that according to those calculations there is 20% saving for kenya, meaning as long as oil doesn't loose 20% of its value remain above $85 there's a saving.

Kitayabi, I would not rely on $85 as a benchmark indicator. As the price of oil decreases the associated costs of producing electricity from oil does not necessarily decrease, i.e. logistics and transport of oil to generators, and maintenance of plants...and also in countries like Eth and Ken oil consumption will only increase.
A more realistic comparison would be with coal fired plants, as they are cheaper than diesel fired ones, but that is a totally different calculation, and requires its own huge infrastructural improvements to make it affordable in the long run...like a railway line.

Anyway, I think the power sale deal is a win-win situation no matter how you cut it.

Ethiopia, State Grid Corporation of China, sign agreement for power transmission line project

0 Comment(s)Print E-mail Xinhua, April 27, 2013
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Ethiopia and the State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC) on Friday signed an agreement for the construction of power transmission line of the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) at a ceremony held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Mihret Debebe, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo), and China Electric Power Equipment and Technology Co, Ltd (CET) of SGCC, signed the deal.

The GERD power transmission line Project has a total length of 1,136 km and it will be executed at a cost of 1.458 billion U.S. dollars. It is said that it will be commenced in two months time.

The GERD-Dedessa-Holeta 500kv power transmission project is programmed to transmit power from the future GERD hydroelectric power station through two 500kv double circuit transmission line to the new Dedessa, then Holeta substations and then through 400kv from Holeta to Sebeta II, Holeta to Sululta II, and Holeta to Akaki II existing substations.

Signing the agreement, Mihret Debebe, CEO of EEPCo, noted that the project involves one of the largest extra high voltaic transmission lines, the first in its kind in Africa with the exception of few in Egypt and South Africa.

The CEO highlighted on the project's role played in regional power link on the African continent as it supplies power to the Ethiopian national grid and also to the two corridors to southern Sudan and northern Sudan.

He also stated that the project is a milestone proving the Ethiopian government's objective making Ethiopia the green energy hub in the region as well as on the continent.

"The project GRD is designed in such a way to supply power to the Ethiopian national grid, and the two corridors, especially the Southern Sudan corridor and the Northern Sudan corridor," said the CEO.

Indicating that the timing of the project is critical, Mihret urged the SGCC to do utmost to achieve it.

Speaking on behalf of the SGCC, Du Zhigang, Deputy President of SGCC, stated that his company has attached great importance to the project and would carry out the project as per the schedule.

Reiterating that China and Ethiopia have been enjoying a long- standing friendship, he said that SGCC would cooperate with the Ethiopian government and its people towards the development of power and also the economic growth of the country.

He said the SGCC would accomplish the project successfully as per the schedule to further strengthen the friendship and cooperation of China and Ethiopia.He also expressed his firm belief that with the support of the two governments and joint efforts, the project would be fruitful.

Witnessing the signing of the project, Alemayehu Tegenu, Ethiopian Minister of Water and Energy, said that the construction of the transmission line would help benefit Ethiopia's economy and ensure industrial development.

He also thanked the CET of China and those who participate for the realization of the signing of the project

http://www.china.org.cn/world/Off_the_Wire/2013-04/27/content_28672020.htm

yall hurry up and send some of that juice down south. 500-600mw should be enough

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