ADDIS ABABA: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has called on Ethiopia to slow its construction of Africa's largest hydropower plant and the Renaissance Dam in order to promote other aspects of the economy. The government began work on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, situated on the Blue Nile River near the Sudanese border, in April last year. The 80 billion-birr ($4.5 billion) project will generate 6,000 megawatts, partly for export to the region, and is scheduled to be completed in 2018. “I think there's a need to rethink some of those projects a little bit to make sure that they don't absorb all domestic financing just for that project," IMF country representative Jan Mikkelsen told reporters. “If you suck in all domestic financing to just a few projects that money will be used for this and not for normal trade and normal business." Ethiopia's massive dam project has seen much concern from Cairo and Khartoum, who fear the establishment of Africa's largest dam would affect previous colonial deals on Nile water-sharing. It is to be built some 40 kilometers upstream from Sudan on the Blue Nile. But even before the official announcement of Ethiopia's prime minister's passing on August 20, Egyptian officials told Bikyamasr.com that they believed a post-Meles region could bring forth new negotiations and compromise over Nile water. An Egyptian ministry of water and irrigation told Bikyamasr.com last month, two weeks before Zenawi was pronounced dead, that with the combination of Egypt's new President Mohamed Morsi and the potential of seeing a new leader in Ethiopia, they hoped the tension over Nile River water could be resolved. “While this can in no way be official policy at this point, I believe that there would be more maneuvering with a new leadership in Ethiopia because there would be the ability to communicate and not be seen as antagonistic," the official said, adding that they were not authorized to speak to the media. “Let us be frank about the situation between Egypt and other Nile countries," the official continued. “We in Egypt have not been the best at compromise so I think overall, there is so much that can be done to help bring countries together, and Ethiopia has been a leader in its criticism of Egypt so starting there would be good." With the Nile comes a new set of issues, and with Egypt holding onto a lion's share of water from the world's largest river, upstream countries such as Ethiopia have taken it on their own to begin building dams and other water related endeavors, much to the anger of Cairo. However, officials hope that solutions can be had in the new post-revolution Egypt that could see the growing tension between countries along the Nile reduce. “While Egypt never wants to mingle in another country's affairs, a new leadership in Ethiopia would go a long way to changing how things are run, just like it has in Egypt," the official added.
