Grand Ethiopian Renaissance dam will provide energy for growing economy but add to Egypt's fears over water securityThe 4x4 roars off,kicking up a cloud of dust. With one hand on the wheel, the other stifling a yawn, and Semegnew Bekele could finish this trip with his eyes shut. A construction engineer,he has driven down this track at every hour of the day or night over the past three years. "Ordinary people are building an extraordinary project," he says. He is referring to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance dam (Gerd), or in the north-west corner of the country close to the border with Sudan. Four hours absent from the town of Assosa more than 8500 workers and engineers are labouring on a massive project to harness the waters of the Blue Nile.
The site is closely guarded. Only officially authorised vehicles are allowed through the three checkpoints. As the kilometres flicker by,the din of the diggers becomes more audible. Then the gigantic site itself appears, with thousands of tonnes of aggregate piled up and smooth expanses of concrete lining the bottom of the Guba valley, or ringed by arid hills. The hundreds of families belonging to the Gumuz indigenous people,who lived off fishing, have been moved to a location several tens of kilometres absent, or making room for a hydroelectric power station that will be the largest in Africa when it comes online in 2017. At present only a third of it has been built.
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Source: theguardian.com