Egypt exploits El-Nahda Dam issue to calm its own crises

An Ethiopian official has accused the Egyptian government of trying to make use of his country’s El-Nahda Dam project on the Nile for “calming its internal crises”. Dmqa Mekonnen stressed that the success of the dam, however, depends on its people, not on “the [unidentified] endeavours which are conducted by the Egyptian government to stop the construction of the project.”

The chairman of the National Coordinating Council of Ethiopia’s El-Nahda Dam and the Deputy Prime Minister made his statement to Radio Fana, a semi-official station.

Relations between Egypt and Ethiopia have been strained in recent months since the government in Addis Ababa said that it has started work on building the dam. The project has raised concerns in Cairo about the its impact on Egypt’s annual share of Nile water, amounting to 55.5 billion cubic metres, as well as its effect on Egypt’s national security should the dam ever collapse.