The Ethiopian government has downplayed the effect that a dam it is planning to build near the Sudanese border could have on lower Nile riparian sates, Egypt and Sudan. Addis Ababa has qualified fears expressed by Egyptian officials as “unsubstantiated”. Reports from Egypt have indicated that the north African country is alarmed over Ethiopian plans to construct more hydroelectric dams, including a planned power plant at Benishangul state.
Cairo fears that a cumulative effect could translate into much lower water levels downstream into Egypt.
Ethiopia, which is constructing dams in a backdrop of criticisms from Cairo, stepped up its plans after Burundi joined a May 2010 treaty, the Nile Basin Co-operative Framework, which seeks to ensure a new equitable water sharing that will end Egypt’s historical control over the Nile water.
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