With a total length of 6,670 kilometers, the Nile is the longest river in the world. The Nile has two sources, the Blue Nile River in the Ethiopian Plateau and the White Nile River in Lake Victoria in Central Africa. The Blue Nile and White Nile meet in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, to form the huge Nile, which flows north and joins the Mediterranean Sea in northern Egypt. In flood periods, the Blue Nile accounts for 68% of the Nile volume, and during the dry period, the Blue Nile drops to 17% of the Nile volume, so the Blue Nile is extremely important for the Nile.
In addition to infectious diseases, water scarcity remains the most difficult problem on the continent. Due to the global climate, location near the equator and poor infrastructure, Ethiopia, known as the "East African Water Tower" and the source of the Blue Nile, has long faced water shortages. According to one figure, Ethiopia's neighboring Kenya, with a quarter of its population without access to clean water for drinking, is one of the world's most water-scarce countries.
Rejuvenation Dam
In order to change the country's water scarcity, in 2011, the construction of the Ethiopian Fuxing Dam, located on the Blue Nile, one of the two sources of the Nile, near the border between Ethiopia and Sudan, was completed, and the first phase of water storage was completed in July 2020 and the second phase began in July 2021.
As Egypt did half a century ago, the ambitious dam plan also aims to tap more water for agriculture in the country of 110 million people. As one of the world's least developed countries, Ethiopia invested $4.8 billion to build the dam with a power generation capacity of 5,000 megawatts. The funds required for construction were borne entirely by Ethiopia, without any loans from external sources.
When completed, the Fuxing Dam will be Africa's largest hydropower station, single-handedly increasing Ethiopia's power generation by four times, not only for domestic use, but also for export to neighboring countries, thereby driving the development of other promising industries. For Ethiopians, the Fuxing Dam is even more profound, and it is a sign of their march towards rejuvenation. Together with the ancient humans Lucy, Gondar Castle and Laribeira Rock Church, this dam has become Ethiopia's new "four proudness".
Water disputes:
Historically, Ethiopia and Egypt have long been at odds over issues such as religion and the supply of the Nile. The Nile is the main source of water for Egypt, a water-scarce country. The Egyptian government vehemently opposed the dam because its storage and operation would cost it a significant portion of the Nile's share of water.
Ethiopia chose the right time to build, taking advantage of Egypt's turmoil in the Arab Spring, and by the time Egypt recovered from the civil strife, it had been under construction for more than a year, and raw rice was cooked into mature rice. Then, amid rounds of denunciations from the Egyptian government, the dam has been progressing steadily. According to Ethiopian state media, the mega project is now 85 percent complete, the dam's third round of water storage has been completed, and the first and second units have started generating electricity.
Behind the game:
Egypt has long opposed and obstructed upstream countries from using the Nile's water resources, including by building dams, since the colonial period, in short, the Nile must remain a natural river for our use. For a long time, Egypt unreservedly used everything about the Nile, including extensive diversion water for irrigation, and built the Aswan Dam in 1960.
In 1959, Egypt and Sudan, despite the strong opposition of upstream countries, especially Ethiopia, reached a so-called "Agreement on the Comprehensive Use of Nile Water", allowing Sudan to use 18.5 billion cubic meters of the annual runoff of the 84 billion cubic meters of the Nile, and the rest to itself, completely excluding the right of other upstream countries to use the Nile.
Egypt strikes back:
In a speech at a Cairo stadium on July 15 last year, Sisi warned of attempts to jeopardize Egypt's water security: "Egypt has its own political tools, as well as its own military and economic means, to protect its rights and realize its will." Egypt's national security is a red line. ”
The issue of the Fuxing Dam has become more complicated by the infiltration of external forces. Under the impetus of Egypt, countries outside the basin such as Russia, Senegal and the United States, as well as international organizations such as the Arab League, the United Nations, and the European Union, have paid special attention to the issue of revival dams. At the same time, Egypt continues to strengthen diplomatic relations with Ethiopia's neighboring countries, which has virtually increased pressure on Ethiopia.
At the same time, Egypt is also actively contacting China, hoping that the mainland can rely on its influence in Ethiopia to influence the Ethiopian government's decision-making. It is only for China's economic strategy to Africa that Ethiopia, along with its neighbors Eritrea and Djibouti, occupies a central position. China does not want a war between countries here. China recognizes the vital importance of the Nile to Egypt and will continue to work hard to find a win-win solution for all parties involved.
The battle of national fortunes
Nearly a decade after negotiations to revive the dam, the dispute between the three countries has intensified, rather than cooling. Since 2021, the UN Security Council has called on the three countries to resume negotiations under the auspices of the AU, but the AU's efforts to resume negotiations have been unsuccessful. Ethiopia still insists on the construction of the dam, because Ethiopia understands that the revival of the dam is not a momentary dispute, but a matter of national fortune. Even though Ethiopia has a civil war in the country after 2018, the construction of the dam has not been affected in any way.
Due to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the food supply of Egypt and Sudan has been seriously affected, the problem of food shortage has become increasingly prominent, and the desire of the two countries to maintain the rights and interests of the Nile water distribution has become stronger. The drama of the "one river, one dam, three countries" dispute will continue.