ADDIS ABABA – Ethiopia's government has declared that the Blue Nile River's great hydropower project has begun generating electricity.
According to state-run Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation (EBC), Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed officially opened the first electricity generation of the mega-dam, nicknamed the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), which is slated to be Africa's largest hydroelectric facility, on Sunday.
"The dam's electrical generation is also beneficial to the countries downstream. Through Sudan and Egypt, we hope to export our pollution-free energy to Europe "During the inaugural event, Ahmed said. According to Ethiopian state media, one of the great dam's 13 turbines began producing electricity on Sunday, with a generating capacity of 375 megawatts. The dam is seen as a threat by Ethiopia's downstream neighbours, Egypt and Sudan, who see it as a threat to restrict the amount of water reaching their borders.
Ethiopia, on the other hand, believes that the dam is necessary for its electrification and development, and that it will have little influence on downstream countries. The dam, the country has often stated, is critical to its development and will allow it to distribute electricity to its population of more than 110 million people.
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