Gerd: Africa’s largest hydroelectric dam – Opinion that Ethiopia will build a hydroelectric dam

The size of the first construction site was too large for the young Ethiopian mechanical engineer.

Hundreds of people are already excavating the foundations of Africa’s largest hydroelectric dam, a large pass on the Blue Nile River, in difficult conditions.

Moges Yeshiwas bin dey arrived in the western corner of Ethiopia on 27, 2012, hoping to gain valuable experience as a doctor. Completing a project will change the nation, but it will not change lives.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed officially inaugurated the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (Gerut), which will not only supply electricity to the Kontri region but also contribute to the electrification of Kontri.

The dam’s walls extend 1.78 km (1.1 miles) across the valley, are 145 m (475 ft) high, and are constructed with 11 million cubic meters of concrete. We created a huge reservoir and we call it Nigat Lake. Di means dawn in Amharic.

Dams have been built on top of Nile tributaries, supplying most of the river’s water, but the downstream Contris is controversial. Diplomatic tensions with Egypt escalate, and Dem Bin becomes embroiled in conflict.

But for Ethiopia, Di Gerdo has become a symbol of national pride and, in Abiy’s view, a powerful position on the world stage.

On a personal level, Oga Mogesu Bin, now 40 years old, is also “very proud to be a part of me”.

“It’s very satisfying to see the progress of the dam every day. I’m here looking for a job, but at some point along the way, it starts to feel like just another job. I’m attached to the project and I care about the future as if they were my own.”

But Binday has some challenges.

“Being separated from your family for an extended period of time is difficult,” the BBC said. Oga Moges can only go to his home, which is 400 km away by car from Bahir Dar, only twice a year.

The location of the village, where the dam site is located, and the intense heat, with temperatures sometimes reaching 45 degrees, also have their own problems. Additionally, the working hours are very long.

“Our shifts are from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., with only a one-hour lunch break. We hand over to our night staff to work Continu 24 hours a day,” Mogues said.

My job is to ensure that building work is structurally sound and that building codes are maintained.

Di Gerd’s project is a rare unifying force in the Horn of Africa’s Kontri bin Dei, which has struggled with political violence and ethnic conflict for the past decade.

While some people, like engineers, worked directly on the dam, millions of Ethiopians literally invested in it.

Pipo from all walks of life are contributing to the construction of the dam through donations and purchasing government-issued bonds.

US President Donald Trump claims Washington is financially supporting the dam’s construction, but Addis Ababa insists it is fully domestically financed.

In some fundraising campaigns, di public members donate multiple times.

Clinical nurse Kiros Asfaw is one of them.

Despite coming from the Tigray region, which has been devastated by two years of civil war, they have actively contributed to the dam’s construction since first announcing plans in 2011.

I have said that I have purchased government bonds more than 100 times, and during the conflict you can suspend purchases, but this is because basic services such as banking and Binday have been suspended in Tigray.

Oga Quiros’ motivations are rooted in Ethiopia, with the late Prime Minister Meles Zenawi Toku, who oversaw the project’s launch, saying all Ethiopians must come to support the dam.

“I promise myself to do everything I deserve to cross the finish line,” the father-of-five told the BBC.

Now, with all the turbines running smoothly, start thinking about the difference PowerFit will make to Ethiopia.

Assume it generates 5,100MW of power at full capacity. Produce more electricity with Kontri’s dual water without using dams or enofs, powering tens of millions more homes in Kontri. However, it relies heavily on the infrastructure to power the various parts of the contri.

Water and Energy Minister Habtam Ifeta told the BBC that almost half of the country’s population of 135 million people do not have access to electricity.

“We want to reduce it over the next five years. We want to make sure that at least 90% of the population has access to electricity by 2030,” Tork said.

Getenesh Gabiso, 35, who lives in Aramla, a rural village on the outskirts of Hawassa, the main city in southern Ethiopia, is one of those who imagines a difference.

Her life is like a million ODA in rural Ethiopia.

Despite living in a small thatched hut just 10 kilometers from Hawassa, Getenesh, her husband and their three children have no access to electricity.

She collects firewood around a nearby deer farm for cooking.

Use kerosene-fueled lamps for lighting. Her husband, Germesa Garrucha, was concerned about the health of his family.

“(Getenesh) Bin Day has big, beautiful eyes, but years of smoke damage them. They don’t get watery,” Tork said.

“I’m worried about what will happen if the smoke suffocates the children.”

It’s so dark that Getenesh sometimes relies on the dim light from her husband’s cell phone to help her see through her dream night.

“I want light in my house. I don’t care about it now, I need all the electrical appliances. I just need the lights on in the evening,” she told the BBC.

I’m looking forward to seeing the difference and power of Gerd Fit Make. However, Minister Habtum acknowledged that more needs to be done to expand the country’s electricity grid infrastructure.

Democrats still need to lay tens of thousands of kilometers of cable to reliably connect small towns and remote villages, for example.

But for engineer Moges, the electricity generated by the Blue Nile will ultimately make a difference.

While Binh Day was working on the dam, a son was born.

I said, “I hate myself enough to need someone to tell me I’m not worthy.”

“But I know that the future is bright because I can contribute. And I’m very proud to be able to say that when I grow up.”

Additional reporting by Hanna Temuari