Massive $5 Billion Ethiopian Dam Worries Surrounding Countries

On Tuesday, September 9th, 2025, there was a grand opening for the GERD (Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam) in the Nile River. The dam was said to make electricity accessible to more of Ethiopia. But Ethiopia’s neighbors, Sudan and Egypt, aren’t so happy with the dam.

The GERD is the largest hydropower dam in Africa. Ethiopia has been working on the GERD from 2011 to 2023. The dam can hold approximately 19.5 trillion gallons, or 74 trillion liters, of water. Ethiopians hope that this dam will allow some of Ethiopia’s more remote places to gain access to electricity. In fact, it is said that this dam will produce enough electricity to let Ethiopia sell electricity to other countries. Egypt and Sudan get a large fraction of their water from the Nile, however, and are uneasy about the idea of Ethiopia controlling their water availability.

There is also an Egyptian dam on the Nile. It is supposed to make up for water shortages that could be caused by the GERD. Even though Sudan buys electricity from Ethiopia, Sudan’s government is still worried about the dam. Abiy Ahmed, the Ethiopian prime minister, assures them that the dam is perfectly harmless. “To our neighbours downstream-Egypt and Sudan-our message is clear,” Abiy said, “The Renaissance Dam is not a threat, but a shared opportunity.” Egypt and Sudan are not persuaded-they are hoping to convince Ethiopia to sign a contract letting them also have a say in how the dam is run.

Though many workers were proud to have been part of the building of the dam, there were still difficulties. They worked on the dam for twelve hours a day, pausing only for a lunch break. The dam is not just giving people electricity; there is a whole new town next to the GERD, and the thousands of people who worked on it have learned skills that could be useful in lots of other projects.