A picture taken on May 28, 2013 shows the Blue Nile in Guba, Ethiopia, during its diversion ceremony. PHOTO | WILLIAM LLOYD GEORGE | AFP
Summary
- The confluence of the two Niles is Khartoum, in Sudan from where it flows northwards to Egypt.
- Eastern African countries have called for a peaceful resolution on the dispute.
By ALIBASH MOHAMED
The Arab Republic of Egypt, the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the Republic of Sudan are entangled in high stakes dispute over the use of the Nile waters, something that could escalate to strain of relations.
The disagreement stems from Ethiopia’s ambitious 4.8 billion dollars flagship mega dam, “The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD)”, with a volume of 10,200,000 m3, on the Blue Nile
River in Ethiopia, near Sudan-Ethiopia border, to the chagrin of Egypt which relies on The Nile River for most of its water needs. The construction that began in 2011 is 75 per cent complete, according to Ethiopian Minister of Irrigation Seleche Baqli.
The Nile River begins from the equatorial rivers that flow into Lake Victoria and it flows into the Mediterranean Sea, making a journey of 6,695 km. It runs through 11 countries referred to as the Nile Basin Countries.
FLOWS NORTHWARDS
These are Burundi, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Egypt, Kenya, Sudan, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda and DRC and South Sudan. The sources of the Nile are White Nile from equatorial Africa and the Blue Nile from Ethiopia.