Name and Location
Grand Renaissance dam hydropower project, Ethiopia.

Client
Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo).

Project Description
The Grand Renaissance dam hydropower project, located on the Abay river, in the Beneshangul Gumuz region, envisages a plant with an installed capacity of 6 000 MW that will supply 15 692 GWh/y.

The major components of the project include:
• a 145-m-high roller-compacted concrete (RCC) dam with a 1 780-m-long crest;
• a saddle dam, 4 800 m long and 45 m high, will be rock-filled, with 24 upstream bituminous facing;
• two outdoor powerhouses of 3 750 MW and 2 250 MW installed capacity, containing ten and six generating units respectively, each with a capacity of 375 MW; and
• a 500 kV switchyard, which will transmit power from the two power houses to the grid.

The main dam and saddle dam will create 74-billion cubic metres of impounding capacity, with a surface area of 1 680 km² at full capacity.

A gated spillway, equipped with six radial gates and with a discharge capacity of 14 700 m³/s at probable maximum flood occurrence, will be located on the left side of the main dam.

A saddle dam on the left side of the RCC dam, with an emergency side spillway, is envisaged to allow for flood discharged directly into the Roseires reservoir.

Construction of 123 km of access roads, as well as camps, workshops and other civil works, form part of the activities for the project.

Value
The project is valued at an estimated $4.8-billion.

Duration
Completion is expected in 2015.

Latest Developments
Leaders from Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan have signed a cooperation deal concerning the Grand Renaissance hydroelectric dam on a tributary of the Nile river, to ease tensions about regional water supplies.

The leaders have said that the "declaration of principles" will pave the way for further diplomatic cooperation on the dam, which has stirred fears of a regional resource conflict. No details of the agreement have been released as yet.

Egypt, which relies almost exclusively on the Nile for farming, industry and drinking water, has sought assurances that the dam will not significantly cut the river's flow to its rapidly growing population.

Ethiopia – the source of the Blue Nile, which joins the White Nile, in Khartoum, and runs on to Egypt – says the dam will not disrupt the river's flow and hopes the project will transform it into a power hub for the electricity-hungry region.

Ethiopia Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn has reaffirmed that Ethiopia's Grand Renaissance dam will not cause any harm to downstream countries.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has stressed the country's dependence on Nile waters. "You will develop and grow and I am with you, but be aware that in Egypt the people live only on the water that comes from this river," he has said.

The principles of the agreement include giving priority to downstream countries for electricity generated by the dam, a mechanism for resolving conflicts and providing compensation for damages, Egyptian Irrigation Minister Hossam al-Moghazi has said.

The signatories have also pledged to protect the interests of downstream countries when the dam's reservoir is filled.

Addis Ababa has long complained that Cairo is pressuring donor countries and international lenders to withhold funding from the 6 000 MW dam, which is being built by Italy's Salini Impregilo.

Seif al-Din Hamid, an official in Sudan's irrigation ministry, has said that the deal will not halt the ongoing construction.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Salini Costruttori, a subsidiary of Salini Impregilo (construction contract) and Alstom (turbine and generators).

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
EEPCo, tel +251 11 1 55 95 67, fax +251 11 1 57 1860 or email eepcocommunication@yahoo.com.
Alstom VP corporate external communications, Christine Rahard-Burnat, tel +33 1 41 49 32 95 or email Christine.rahard@chq.alstom.com.
Salini Impregilo, tel +39 06 67761, fax +39 06 6776288 or email info@salini-impregilo.com.