Divisive Ethiopian dam that could save regional economies

Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (Gerd) on the Blue Nile River in Guba, northwest Ethiopia.

Photo credit: Reuters

Ethiopia will launch its controversial mega dam on the Blue Nile on September 9, completing a decade of an ambitious project that nearly cost a war with Egypt.

But the launch of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (Gerd), which will generate some 5GW for local consumption and export, could signal the beginning of the end of Egypt's 96-year stranglehold on the Nile waters.