The Grand Ethiopian
Renaissance Dam ( Amharic :
ህዳሴ ግድብ, Hidāse Gēdīb ),
formerly known as the
Millennium Dam and
sometimes referred to as
Hidase Dam , is an under
construction gravity dam on
the Blue Nile River about 40
km (25 mi) east of Sudan in
the Benishangul-Gumuz
Region of Ethiopia. [1] At
6,000 MW, the dam will be
the largest hydroelectric
power plant
in Africa when completed, as
well as the seventh largest in
the world sharing the spot
with Krasnoyarskaya. [2] The
reservoir at 63 billion cubic
meters will be one of the
continent's largest.[3]
Background
On 31 March 2011, a day after
the project was made public,
a US$4.8 billion contract was
awarded without competitive
bidding to Salini Costruttori
and the dam's foundation
stone was laid on 2 April 2011
by Ethiopia's Prime Minister
Meles Zenawi .[4] A rock
crushing plant has been
constructed along with a
small air strip for fast
transportation. [5]
Construction is expected to
last 44 months when two
generators would be
operational. [
TULIA.........UFUNZWE!