Sudan to build power transmission line from Ethiopia’s GERD: minister

October 28, 2016 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan’s Minister of Electricity and Water Resources, Mutaz Musa, Friday said that Sudan intends to build a 3000 megawatt power transmission line from the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) to link Ethiopia and Sudan electricity networks.
The Sudanese minister pointed that Sudan would increase imported electricity from Ethiopia to 300 megawatts instead of the current 200 megawatts in the coming summer season.
“The cooperation with Ethiopia is a model for regional integration in East Africa,” said Mutaz.
Sudan suffers power shortage especially in summer season as of late April to the end of July. During this period every year there is power cut for nearly eight hour on daily basis.
Sudanese government acknowledges the gap in electricity production and attributes that to the impossibility to import new power generation units due the economic sanctions on the country.
There are two main power generation equipment companies which are not dealing with Sudan due the economic sanctions imposed on the country, according to Sudanese officials.
The Ethiopia’s Grand Renaissance Dam is being built in Benishangul Gumuz region’s Guba locality, a vast, and arid land some 40 kilometres away from the Sudanese border. This dam and others are built in Ethiopia to generate power covering not only the needs of land locked country but the whole region.
In a press statement to Anadolu Agency in Addis Ababa where he attends the meetings of the joint Ethiopian Sudanese Advisory Technical Committee, Mutaz pointed that Sudan, Ethiopia and Egypt are committed to cooperate on GERD.
Mutaz stressed that the three countries have officially agreed to continue negotiations on the GERD.
“We are not concerned by what is reported in the media on GERD,” stressed Mutaz.
On his part, Ethiopia’s Minister of Water, Irrigation and Energy, Motuma Mekasa pointed that Sudan’s strong position from the GERD is driven by the desire to achieve the mutual interest of Nile Basin countries.
Mekasa noted during meeting his Sudanese counterpart that GERD is 54% complete and pledged to accelerate construction process to complete the project within the set timeframe.
In September, Technical teams of Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia have signed the additional studies agreement of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). The technical studies aimed at safeguarding the water quotas of the three riparian states.
The multi-billion dollar dam is being constructed on the Blue Nile, about 20 kilometres from the Sudanese border, and has a capacity of 74 billion cubic meters, and is expected to generate electrical power of up to 6,000 megawatts.
Egypt is concerned that the dam could reduce its quota of 55.5 billion cubic meters of the Nile water, while the Ethiopian side maintains that the dam is primarily built to produce electricity and will not harm Sudan and Egypt.