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Egypt requests Great Millennium Dam studies from Ethiopia
Nile Basin
Irrigation Minister Hussein al-Atfy on Thursday said Egypt is awaiting the Ethiopian government’s reply to its request for technical and environmental studies of the Great Millennium Dam. Ethiopia is building the dam on its borders with Sudan.
“We shall examine the studies to determine the adverse repercussions on Egypt’s Nile water quota,” he said, adding that Egypt would resort to the international community if Ethiopia failed to reply.
“According to international law, Ethiopia must supply Egypt with studies of dams it intends to build,” he explained.
For his part, former Irrigation Minister Nasr Eddin Allam warned that Ethiopia intends to build a total of four dams so as to control Blue Nile water, which supplies Egypt with 85 percent of its Nile quota.
“The reserve capacity of those dams is 141 billion cubic meters of water,” he said, pointing out that Egypt’s Lake Nasser has a capacity of 120 billion cubic meters.
AlMasryAlYoum – Translated from the Arabic Edition
Niguse
April 3, 2011 at 8:44 pm
Yes!!! we ethiopians have been bleeding in side for our pride river of Nile,thanks to our former leaders they have been messing us.But now time has come to us to put our strong arms on every single apportunities that changes those highlited bad names which were written on the beging books.
Now am feeling so proud more than any other time,and frankly speaking am ready to offer what ever the ever freed nation wants me to do in order to gain its targets.
God bless Ethiopia and her talented leader “Meles”
shimelis
April 4, 2011 at 3:50 am
Ethiopia does not need the approval of egypt
andualem b.
April 4, 2011 at 8:12 am
Yeap…things came to the right track now…we Ethiopian have not only the need and asiration of using our GOLDEN RESOURCE….ABAY, but also we are now capable of utilizing it.
So, everybody don’t be surprised,its the beginning….!!
Kalleab
April 4, 2011 at 9:13 am
Egypt as it has been said the gift of Nile or if Ethiopia blokes the Nile at night and the Egyptian people will die in the morning . however this is not the case the what matters is that we all are have to be beneficiaries from it . it should not be one sided Ethiopia have a reputation of being a country of drought , famine and poverty. if Ethiopia have to grow it have to use all resources including Nile this is her natural right. however it does not mean that she should close it entirely. rather all the Nile basin countries have to benefit either directly or indirectly. therefore stop complying , fear and suspicion and please stop arming opposition parties so as to disturb our peace. we share a lot of things we are not strangers once development is important to another be positive .in conclusion to my comment stop saying that we don’t have the right to develop our water resources and avoid suspicion of us. there fore let us developed together .
sofia
April 4, 2011 at 11:00 am
Now has come the time when we see Abay will be tamed for domestic use without the consent of the greedy Egyptians.
Bravo!! Meles,PM of the great Ethiopia.
fre
April 4, 2011 at 11:57 am
tnx for Meles, at least he raise this topics but the formers !!!! may be if Mengistu stays long he may do that any ways.
now it is the right time, God bless Ethiopia and leader Meles, realy i appreicate n proud of him on this Nile topic , so u r better to rule Ethiopia for long
teddy
April 4, 2011 at 12:20 pm
ya GOD BLEES OUR PRIME MINISTER MELES!!!!!!!!!!!!!
the great historical DAM
getu
April 5, 2011 at 9:18 am
we trust in god we are luky even to here this news :for this generation!!!!!!!!
Adibaya
April 5, 2011 at 10:28 am
Now we got the second great man for this nation after Megistu the great. Thank you Melese we are with you now.
muzina
April 5, 2011 at 10:29 am
Bravo Bravo Ethiopians! now hands are armed together to solve the myriads of problems.thus, we we have been and are together for any challenges that may face to us in any manner.
mite
April 5, 2011 at 10:59 am
If we have unity,deadly sure, this is the time of the renaissance of Ethiopia.The promise from God to our Land has started its fulfillment.
Buzae
April 5, 2011 at 11:09 am
Wow its incredible! Here is the call & time to reply…everyone must belongs to the country! Long live Meles!!
Deresse
April 5, 2011 at 11:41 am
Oh my God!
A so happy. Thanks Ato Melese next to God!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ou
This is what i was aspiring for long long time! now, the time has come that all Ethiopians to unite and to work and end POVERTY…That’s all what we have…what we plan for…we don’t have hidden agenda our brothers in Egypt!. LET SAY ENOUGH FOR POVERTY! Amen!!! No more war!, no more malnutrition!, no more hunger! no more food aid!
Oh! God bless Ethiopia and Ethiopians!
Eng.Mohamed Hassan Hamed
April 5, 2011 at 12:30 pm
Dear brothers and sisiters in Ethiopia ,the land of one of the oldest great civilization in the history. I realy wonder about the sound of challenges when talking about Egypt.The holly Nile tie should have cancelled such agressive sounds.Believe me , frankly saying Egyptian do love you and looking for the mutual benifits from the Nile water and develop its recources for the sack of all riperian countries . let us put hand in hand to cement and strength our cooperative relationships in all fields of development.I am saying that not from the weak positions but from a strong one that based on the respect of others rights to livein pease , the respect of international agreements that never fell down , the spirit of tranparency that must takes place between the peoples of the two countries and other ripirian countries.Believe me the leaders die but confidence and love between peoples never end .I leave you in great wishes to meet in another message.Untill that I ll pray for Allah the God to bless all people in Egypt and Ethiopia.
Tadewos
April 5, 2011 at 3:12 pm
It is surprising. I haven’t ever pleased even in all my life steps like this. Our Lord Jesus Christ bless our prime minister Meles. Meles long live. I never forget your words and I was crying while you were presenting for sure. Today afternoon I was discussing with some of my staff members about the issue. All the members agreed on that they would sacrifice their money, their time, their professional abilities, and even their lives. Oh, God! Now-a-days the discussion is fully changed. We will have discussion in our staff nearly. Let the government ask us any kind of contribution without any hesitation and we are willing to contribute upto our lives.
What I would like to say for the beneficiaries of this river is that it needs a round table discussion in stead of jamming the project or blaming the Ethiopian government. It was obvious that Ethiopia was considered as the poorest country in the world while contributing (tributing) more than 85% of this river to some of the countries as all countries of the world know. According to God’s plan this is the right time for Ethiopia to use its resources as much as she can.
Egypt always struggles to prevent the world and internation financial institutions not to fund any project related with Abay (Nile) and it was observed many times (for the past 50 years) and she succeeded very well. Now on wards, Ethiopia will be able to finance its project with its citizens and all the citizens understood that it is the issue of existence as our precious prime minister said.
I myself promise for our govenment in my heart and practically that all the contributions our government asks and even more contributions will be satisfied by me.
This is what I can say. I also call all the citizens to carefully understand the situation and join their hands for the success of this project. I also call our government to raise funds periodically without any hesitation upto the accomplishement of the project. We have to break the messing document of the previous government which fully benefits Egypt and cuts the throats of the nations of Ethiopia. Nothing will happen. The world is not walking blurredly to judge against Ethiopia in order not to use its resources while other countries with similar situations are using their resources cooperatively.
God bless Ethiopia, and all the citizens.
I always proud of our prime minister. Go ahead.
Belayneh
April 6, 2011 at 1:17 am
What kind of study Egypt wants on Ethiopian dams????? Ethiopian government must be very vigilant at this stage! Those Arabs might be thinking about a possible attack on Ethiopian Dams and , I think , we don’t need to open the door for them very easily.
Deresse
April 6, 2011 at 8:51 am
Message for Eng.Mohamed Hassan Hamed,
Dear Brother, i totally agree 200% with your opening and i wish all Egyptian people could also understand like you. I believe on mutual benefits as you said, but i wish you to go and read history about this situation since 1960′s.
How your leaders created so many obstacles Ethiopia not to secure funds from international agencies to construct and generate energy and industries to produce more appropriate technologies to boost agricultural production.
Now, look, can you imagine how many Ethiopians are suffering each year with poor harvest?…14 million people ( 7.2 supported under Productive Safety-Net Programme( with cost of civilians and international communities tax money) and 6.2 million can’t meet their daily basic needs and supported by food aid ).
Dear Brother, I am telling you only official government figures, if you know the real number people who needs food aid currently, you will get shock. Thus, dear brother, we love Egyptian people my be more than you do but we will never trust your leaders, they don’t even lean from your previous leaders mistake, why you and your brothers wanted him/them to step down? for me because of internal and international political failure. Now, the time has come, that all Ethiopians and Egyptian brothers who love Ethiopia to work together to end impoverishment and poverty in Ethiopia. I will sacrifice my life, money and all my energy for this project and I’ll pray our leaders to keep their commitment for the benefit of citizens not for benefit of their party and get people’s attention!
I pray also all Ethiopians to make history in this regard.
“…Oh God please make all Ethiopians to rise their hands to you and to know you are the only hope and strength to make history… keep them from proud at the end of the day, when every things went well…make them not to fall from your grace! ..”
Now, time is going…let’s go ahead.
Samoa
April 6, 2011 at 11:33 am
Dear Eng.Mohamed Hassan Hamed,
I’m very happy to hear as brotherly comments as yours from more and more Egyptians. You know you and us are the new generation and we should not neccessarily go by the principles our fathers.My predeccessors, worried of Egypt or bribed or lacked the wit, to come to terms with Egypt. Your predeccessors, analysing their strengths and advantages exploited the weakness on our side. NOW past is past. You and us are in a new era of information and civilization where you can find a needle out of ocean, implying that old tactics would not work. So the term of relationship should be on equal ground with all of us to benefit from the sacred common resource “THE NILE”. I’m sure it is high time that most Egyptians rethink their position. Because the recent image portrayed by Egyptians on toppling their government has demonstrated the level of civililization and dedication of these people for something truely theirs’. And they know Nile is truely a common resource and they will stand for the truth.
Samoa
M.c.madar,jigjiga.
April 7, 2011 at 1:14 am
Wow, this is a historical moment for all ethiopians to unite and make this great project succeed for the benefits of our people and dev’t of ou country, then this issue will be written in a gold page our history as a ethiopians. Regarding egypt, i’m gonna let them know that no one is entitled to take a permission from some one to drink a glass of water from his/her home, even from ur parents. So lets respect each other and live in harmony as well as co-exist peacefully.
M.c.madar,jigjiga.
April 7, 2011 at 1:20 am
As a democratic country, we ethiopians enjoy the hardwork and commitment of our leaders. In god we trust and we love meles, he is genius.
Senetibeb
April 7, 2011 at 6:19 am
This is our time! So, we can do it by our own! We can’t need your approval, Egypt! You have no right to tell what we must do! Once we were great people and now we are experiencing it, thanks to our leaders!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Daniel
April 7, 2011 at 7:51 am
The time has come for we Ethiopians…this is just the introduction there is lots of resource which we will utilize in the future.
I m proud of our PM Meles for his courage, commitment and contributions of this Special millennium project.
kifle
April 7, 2011 at 1:38 pm
what z great news,
every body shoud note that, we ethiopians have the culture to respect all but afraid to no one.
Dereje Andargie
April 7, 2011 at 2:27 pm
Viva PM Meles now you are becoming effective in mobilizing the people to come and work together. Your words about Nile have strong motivating elements. I wish if one occasions is arranged concerning the Nile project, in which people from different parts of the world participate and vowed their actual contributions in making the project real.
hildana samson
April 7, 2011 at 8:00 pm
After all we are on the beginning of a new moment. NEW day has come and no surrender.Let Our leader be mosses of the Israelies. Let God be with all of us.
Mubarak Ali
April 8, 2011 at 6:09 am
Dear my Ethiopian brothers and sisters,
As an Egyptian I have some worrisome feelings about the dam project. I hope what your government said is true that we Egyptians will not be negatively affected as a consequence of the construction of the new dam. After saying this, I would like to express my pleasure to you Ethiopians in the new initiative you are taking. You have the right to use the nile as we do. We are new generation. We can not continue singing the old colonial song the British imposed on us. Bygons are bygons. We will have to build a new world with mutual respect and mutual benefit.
May Allah bless Egyp and Ethiopia and keep their people in the best of understaning and peace.
Mubarak Ali
Cairo, Egypt
alemayehu
April 8, 2011 at 10:12 am
This is our historical time! So, we can do it by our own! it is knowen freined ship is better if agoup of people are mtual understuned if some one is selfish it is bad.Therfore,we can’t need your approval, Egypt have no right to defened and consalt our project! Once we were great people and now we are experiencing it, thanks to our leaders!
MOss
April 8, 2011 at 11:17 am
we put a bigger place for you meles if you completed this task.
shambel Abebe
April 8, 2011 at 11:36 am
The Abay river is the blood of ethiopian,there for too late to use it. For those who want to interapt the aim of this milliniem projet God will fight for them.The head of this project and dream of ethiopia is Jesus so he have a power to against for all of who have a negative idea about this dam so don’t afraid the god with us and keep on him and continue to do the activity.Ima with you in any direction.
Denu
April 8, 2011 at 11:57 am
yeah, this is our resource and it is also expected to give service foreveryone all over the world. This is Africas prosperity, I ask everyone to support and contribute for the project to come true.
GOD BLESS YOU, GOD BLESS ETHIOPIA!
Alemayehu Neway
April 8, 2011 at 12:35 pm
The time has come! Lets tighten our belt, and no more crying- lets make this great project sucessful and no return back !
Taye Geressu Ethiopia
April 8, 2011 at 2:54 pm
There is always time for everything ; the time for Ethiopia & Egyptian cooperative work is not in the past, it must be now in the era of understanding. In fact we don’t need financial aid from Egypt; What we need is understanding. You people must understand us right. We have to survive. It is true that you must also survive How long you keep yourself greedy? Are you now ready to convince yourself that we all the sons and daughters of both countries eat and drink from the fruits of our holly water?
Understanding each other will help us to love each other !
Endale Teklu
April 9, 2011 at 12:17 am
thank God for a wonderful moment I have seen in my life. The GMD project is the key element to solve our problems. We Ethiopians are suffered from civil war, poverty, drought, hunger, injustice, and etc. It is a time for all of Ethiopians to be unite and demolish our rough ways. Lets clean all of our bad experiences to the future generation. Look Europeans, they are becoming one nation with the slogan of ” UNITY IS STRENGTH”. I pray for GMD accomplishment and for our prime minster and for our people. I am ready to contribute anything that helps to over come poverty in my country.
God may bless Ethiopia!
zewdu simachew
April 9, 2011 at 6:27 am
I’m proud to be Ethiopian b/c of I’m in the country of greatest dam owner of in Africa.But this is true if it’s construction goes well&finished with a minimum of 6 years.
“”FOR ETHIOPIANS”"……BE PROUD LIKE ME &MAKE OUR HANDS UNITED TO restore the earliest great Ethiopia.
delala
April 9, 2011 at 10:29 am
dear Mubarek
i am very happy to hear such a positive comment.+-
sintayehu, 40minch university
April 9, 2011 at 3:11 pm
thanks 2 our gov’t,ato meles ,we have started grand milliniem dam&we have a potential 2 build,no need of egypt approval.wecan make every thing in god we trust GOD BLESS ETHIOPIA!!!!!!!
mickias mickele
April 9, 2011 at 4:31 pm
yes we can.we ethiopians are very happy and will do enything to take it 2 the end.
Wedaj
April 10, 2011 at 1:39 pm
My fellow Ethiopians please cool down. I agree that we MUST use our precious resource. But we must be realistic. We are victims of unrealistic ambitions for many years. We have had fruitless rhetoric for many years. We must ask ourselves serious questions before we launch such mega project. Do we have the capacity to build such a project (finance, international relations, etc)? What are its consequences (getting embroiled into conflict with Egypt and Sudan)? We can sing our heroics for ages but we need to get facts right. What if Egypt takes a panic military action? Beware international community is not going to help us out. I hate to tell you the fact that Egypt is World’s 17th military power owning 230 F-16 fighter jets. Just follow this link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptian_Armed_Forces for details. We should not invite war to the nation unnecessarily. Do we have alternatives? Plenty! Why not we take gradual steps? Developing medium level dams on Abay and other rivers; focus on relatively conflict free waters, strengthening internal capacity (economically, politically, etc). Let us hope this project won’t be counter productive.
Wedaj
murad
April 10, 2011 at 3:55 pm
oh ALLAH make this real
Samoa
April 10, 2011 at 4:19 pm
Dear Mubarek,
your thoughts are highly encouraging for Ethio-Egypt brotherly understanding and cooperation. The new generation of Egypt has demonstrated to the world how much you people are civilized and determined for just causes when you did justice to Mubarek, and through peaceful resistance.
And now these youth force should resort and mobilize itself to the new thinking of the Nile initiative. As to your worries, trust us, as a nation, we have had no history of snatching something which is not ours and let others starve. Your govt. is asking for the documents of the studies related to the projects in Ethiopia and hopefully will get it. Furthermore, there is a professor at the American University of Cairo who long ago studied and analysed the Nasir and other dams in Egypt. After concluding the long term benfits outweigh the cost, recommended that it is even better to build the dams at their sources (the highlands) rather than in Egypt for the benefit of Egypt and upstream countries too. So please find and consult these intensive study to trust such projects.
And thanks again for your comforting words.
Opposition
April 11, 2011 at 8:54 am
Most of the repliers here are supporters of the unpopular and dictatorial Meles Zenawi regime, and most of them do not master the english language and can’t wait to laud their leader for an otherwise normal action by a government. They do so not because of the benefit such dam will bring to Ethiopia but because they are desperate that Meles Zenawi stays in power and they hope that the building of this dam will make that possible. I guess most of them are Tigrayans because all other Ethiopians are against the Meles Zenawi regime. And it is a shame for us Ethiopians to see how they talk about Ethiopia. Tigray is not Ethiopia, it is Tigray that is the famished and poorest country.
Concerning the Egyptians here,Ethiopia and the other upstream countries want to know only one thing from Egypt. Does Egypt agree that soon it will get 30 billion m³ water annually instead of 55 billion m³ in the past ?
If it does that is good, if it doesn’t, well it has to see if it can impose on us such an unjust position.
Henok
April 11, 2011 at 12:13 pm
We have a right to do anything we like. The water is ours!
God Bless Ethiopia!
Belay
April 11, 2011 at 12:22 pm
Endhi-naw Engi ! Gashe Mele!
Fetawurari
April 11, 2011 at 3:34 pm
@Wedaj: whatever the military capacity of Egyptian is; we know, as everybody know from history, how to defend any external aggression. I recommend to you and others who have doubt about this to refer history
Wedaj
April 11, 2011 at 5:47 pm
@Fetawuerari: There is no dispute about Ethiopian heroics, and our right to use our resource, etc. The question is this: Is it wise to invest huge money that we don’t have on a project which is not a priority NOW? If we invest that money on irrigation projects elsewhere in the country, Ethiopia will automatically become a net food exporter. Why hurry to generate electricity for export when we have a perennial food shortage? Sadly the land surrounding the dam is already leased to foreigners (land grabbers). No Ethiopian poor is gonna benefit from the dam.
amu
April 11, 2011 at 10:14 pm
come on guys we ca do it. and let us contribute our knowledge power and mony 2 zis gr8 project
genet Kebede
April 12, 2011 at 1:46 am
Wedaj, DO NOT worry.We’ll do it.It is Ethiopian’s dissection.Thanks to our generous leader Meles who thought us everything.
The Ethiopian
April 12, 2011 at 8:59 am
Undear Opposition,
You think your English is good. Don’t flatter yourself. From what you wrote above, I can see that you are one of those BANDAs who stabbed our country and its people at the back, during the Italians five year occupation. You still want to create a gulf between Tigrayans and other Ethiopians. Don’t waste your time bra! We Ethiopians are building our country with mutual respect and understanding and love each other despite our ethnic differences, like never before. Don’t try to shade your crocodile tears for Ethiopia. You and your likes are the SNAKES IN THE GRASS who wanted to destroy our country knowingly or unknowngly. You sound like some of those TIRAZ-NETEKs living in the U.S. who wants someone else at home dies for them while they are wolfing on KFC. Don’t fool yourself. If you want “the throne”, come and fight for it. Nobody in his right mind would die to put your likes on “the throne”. Meles is just OK for now. I used to hate him, but no more. There is no way of expressing True Ethiopianess than he is doing now. Your old fart “ancles” are way out of time. Come back to your sense and join the majority bra!
The Ethiopian
Dabi
April 12, 2011 at 4:27 pm
Abay is not cow milk in which it’s larger share consumed by others who are not the right calves of the cow! Now time has come to us to harness and consume our mother’s milk with the appropriate amount that nature gives us!!!!.
1. Calves should consume first to exist and externals come second!!!
2. Our mother milk will satisfy both the Calves and the externals
Leah
April 12, 2011 at 5:49 pm
A new day has come for us Ethiopians
Samoa
April 12, 2011 at 6:13 pm
Dear Opposition,
the essence of opposition if understand is free expression of ideas and supporting anybody you like. So please don’t bother who is supporting who. Rather discuss the ideas and facts if you do have. As to the language, “The Ethiopian” has stated it correctly, and no need to repeat.
Samoa
April 13, 2011 at 6:49 pm
Dear Opposition,
First, in my opinion the essence of democracy is freedom of expression. In true democracy anybody can support whichever party he sees is worth supporting. So we should not be bothered whoever one supports in this forum. The issue here is rather whether or not what is being done is something useful for Ethiopia.
Second, is your comment on the english language of the participants in this forum. Afterall, it is our second language. The remaining, your own language, has been well said by “The Ethiopian” and no need for me to repeat.
Third, of course we can say there are people who would like Meles to go. But where are the facts that show it is only the Tigreans that are in support of this leader? Maybe you are living outside and getting all the negative news, to satisfy your wishes. We in Ethiopia, are rather witnessing an increasing support to Meles, despite your ethnicity. And this guy, in practice has outwitted the world by doing the impossible, getting international lagality to the Nile initiative, which has been an impossible task to do, as a leader, which probably may include refusing millions of dollars into his West account. it is like swimming against the tide. So he should be commended rather than dishonoured as you are doing, unless you are from Shabia or Egypt.
dagnachew amsal
April 29, 2011 at 12:48 pm
please hear me all of the ethiopians .do what you can do on the great milinium dam.rather losing your powers with oposing groups.GOD BLESS THE HOLY LAND OF THE WORLD!!!
dagnachew amsal
April 29, 2011 at 1:06 pm
those oposing groups please dont give us another job.we want to go with our plan.if you have any problm, let you keep it until we finish our task.THANK YOU FOR YOUR TOLERANCE!
AFRODAN
April 29, 2011 at 1:15 pm
I HAVE A QUESTION ON THE GREAT MILLINUM DAM.IS THE DAM IS USED FOR ONLY HIDROELECTRIC POWER .
dagnachew amsal
May 27, 2011 at 12:08 pm
o my god i cant believe can we construct the great millennium dam .o ya ya ya—…………………………….o ya ya ya! thank you my god!
dagnachew amsal
May 27, 2011 at 12:14 pm
o……………..ya ya………………………………………….