| schema:articleBody
| - Ethiopia's construction of a massive power dam on the Blue Nile is raising tensions with Egypt, which depends on the river for 97 percent of its water supply. The United Nations Security Council meets Monday to discuss Egypt and Sudan's objections to the dam, whose reservoir Ethiopia wants to start filling in July. Here is some background: At 6,695 kilometres (4,160 miles), the Nile is one of the world's longest rivers and a crucial supplier of water and hydropower in a largely arid region. Its drainage basin of more than three million square kilometres (1.16 million square miles) covers 10 countries: Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. The two main tributaries -- the White Nile and the Blue Nile -- converge in Khartoum before flowing north through Egypt and into the Mediterranean Sea. Around 84 billion cubic metres of water is estimated to flow along the Nile every year. Ethiopia in 2011 launched construction of the Grand Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile, roughly 30 kilometres from the border with Sudan. The $4.2-billion dam will produce about 6,450 megawatts of electricity, making it Africa's biggest hydroelectric dam and doubling Ethiopia's electricity output. Ethiopia wants to start filling the reservoir for the 475-foot (145-metre) dam in July, with or without approval from Egypt and Sudan. Egypt, an arid nation of nearly 100 million people, depends on the Nile for around 97 percent of its water needs, including for agriculture. It says its rights to the Nile's waters are protected by a 1929 treaty which guarantees it a significant quota, and gives it veto power over construction projects along the river. A 1959 treaty boosted Egypt's allocation to around 66 percent of the river's flow, with 22 percent for Sudan. But in 2010 Nile Basin countries, excluding Egypt and Sudan, signed another deal, the Cooperative Framework Agreement, that allows projects on the river without Cairo's agreement. Ethiopia, one of Africa's fastest growing economies, insists the dam will not affect the onward flow of water. But Egypt fears its supplies will be reduced during the time it takes to fill the 74-billion-cubic-metre capacity reservoir. Ethiopia wants to start filling the reservoir for the dam in July, with or without approval from the two other countries. Nine years of negotiations have failed to result in a deal. With July looming, Egypt on June 20, 2020 called on the United Nations Security Council to intervene. Egypt considers the dam as a threat to its existence and Sudan has warned millions of lives will be at "great risk" if Ethiopia unilaterally fills the dam. Ethiopia said Saturday it was on track to begin filling the dam "within the next two weeks" but vowed to try resolving its dispute with its downstream neighbours. jmy-ang/eab/ach
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)