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At 170 meters high, 1,800 meters long, and with a reservoir of 74 billion cubic meters, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is the largest hydroelectric power plant in Africa — and its construction triggered a diplomatic crisis that brought Ethiopia, Egypt, and Sudan to the brink of confrontation
On September 9, 2025, Ethiopia officially inaugurated the largest hydroelectric power plant in Africa.
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is located on the Blue Nile, about 700 kilometers northwest of the capital Addis Ababa and just 14 kilometers from the border with Sudan.
The dam has an installed capacity of 5,150 megawatts and a projected annual output of 15,700 GWh.
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There are 13 Francis turbines distributed across two powerhouses, one on each bank of the river.
According to Ethiopian Electric Power, construction began in 2011 and took 14 years until inauguration.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed presided over the ceremony.
The numbers that make this dam a colossus
The main dam is 170 meters high and 1,800 meters long.
About 10.7 million cubic meters of compacted roller concrete were used in the construction.
In addition to the main dam, there is a supporting rock-fill embankment about 5 kilometers long.
The reservoir covers an area of 1,875 km² — larger than the city of São Paulo.
The 74 billion cubic meters of stored water is equivalent to about 30 million Olympic-sized swimming pools.
For comparison, Itaipu — the largest hydroelectric power plant in the world in production until recently — has a reservoir of 29 km³. The GERD holds more than double that.
The crisis that almost led to war: Ethiopia, Egypt, and Sudan
The Nile River is the lifeblood of over 200 million people in 11 countries.
The Blue Nile, which originates in Ethiopia, contributes about 85% of the water that reaches Egypt.
When Ethiopia announced the construction of the GERD in 2011, Egypt reacted with alarm.
The fear was that the dam would retain enough water to drastically reduce the downstream flow.
Negotiations between Ethiopia, Egypt, and Sudan dragged on for more than a decade.
At times, Egyptian officials even suggested that destroying the dam would be an option.
Sudan oscillated between supporting and fearing the project, concerned about flooding during the filling process.
The diplomatic tensions only began to ease when Ethiopia started the gradual filling of the reservoir in 2020, proving that the downstream flow would not be catastrophically interrupted.
Five fillings to fill an artificial sea
The filling of the reservoir occurred in five phases, taking advantage of the rainy season:
- Third filling (2022): altitude of 600 meters
- Fourth filling (2023): altitude of 625 meters
- Fifth and final filling (October 2024): altitude of 640 meters — reservoir full
The first 375 MW turbine was connected to the grid on February 20, 2022.
In August 2024, two turbines of 400 MW each were commissioned.
By April 2025, six turbines were already operational, and the dam was 98.66% complete.
A country that lacked electricity now has the largest hydroelectric plant on the continent
Before the GERD, Ethiopia faced frequent electricity outages.
The generation capacity was insufficient to meet the growing demand from the industrial and residential sectors.
The GERD changes that reality.
The plant alone generates more energy than the entire previous installed capacity of the country.
Strategic objectives include electrifying rural areas, reducing dependence on imported energy, and providing a stable foundation for industrialization.
Ethiopia has an estimated potential of 45 GW of hydropower — the GERD represents just over 10% of that total.
GERD vs. Itaipu vs. Three Gorges: where it fits
The Three Gorges in China leads with 22,500 MW of installed capacity — more than 4 times that of the GERD.
The Itaipu, on the Brazil-Paraguay border, has 14,000 MW and is the second largest.
The GERD, with 5,150 MW, is significantly smaller in capacity.
However, its reservoir of 74 km³ is larger than that of Itaipu (29 km³).
In Africa, the GERD far surpasses the second-largest hydroelectric plant on the continent, Egypt’s Aswan High Dam (2,100 MW).
For Ethiopia, the scale is transformative: it’s as if Brazil inaugurated three Itaipus at once, proportionally to the size of its economy.
Who built it and how much did it cost
The civil works were carried out by the Italian group Webuild (formerly Salini Impregilo), one of the largest dam construction companies in the world.
The Francis turbines from the first phase were supplied by Alstom for €250 million.
The total cost of the project has not been officially disclosed.
Funding came from Ethiopian government bonds and private donations — without loans from international banks or the World Bank.
Ethiopia insisted on financing the project with its own resources as a symbol of sovereignty.
What still worries
The final agreement between Ethiopia, Egypt, and Sudan on the operation of the dam has not yet been signed.
Egypt continues to depend on the Nile for irrigation and the supply of 100 million inhabitants.
Climate change may affect rainfall volumes in the Blue Nile basin, impacting generation.
Seven of the 13 turbines still need to be commissioned to reach the total capacity of 5,150 MW.
But the milestone is set.
Ethiopia, one of the poorest countries in the world, has built the largest engineering project in Africa with its own money — and along the way, challenged Egypt, Sudan, and centuries of hegemony over the Nile.
Your perspective is striking, Douglas. For Ethiopia, the path is clear: let the remaining turbines sing at full throat. There is no turning back from the fundamental right of a nation to fuel its future and provide for its citizens using the gifts of its own land.
Thank you for the thoughtful comment, Anteneh. The GERD is indeed a landmark achievement for Ethiopia — 5,150 MW from a single dam is transformative for a country where tens of millions still lack reliable electricity. The diplomatic tension over the Nile remains one of the most complex water disputes in the world, but from an engineering standpoint, what Ethiopia accomplished in 14 years is remarkable. The challenge now is balancing downstream water flow while maximizing the dam’s potential.