Egypt funds first of several dams in South Sudan - Daily News Egypt

Small dams will not affect Egypt’s water share, says expert

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Egypt is funding new dam in South Sudan with 2bn cubic metres of water storage capacity, a first of several dams to follow, according to state-owned Al-Ahram.

In spite of disputes over Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam over claims of affecting its water share, Egypt is building the dam in Wau, the capital of the Western Bahr el-Ghazal State in South Sudan.

The dams will be small, not affecting Egypt’s water share at all, said head of the Sudan and Nile Basin Studies Program at Al-Ahram Center for Strategic Studies Hany Raslan.

The dam is being built to help with the infrastructure and developmental bases of South Sudan, providing drinking water to about 500,000 people in Wau, as well as enough irrigation water to grow 30,000 feddans. The Wau dam will also contribute to the regularity of river navigation throughout the year, reported Al-Ahram.

South Sudan has a huge amount of excess water, 500bn cubic meters per year. The water is usually wasted in the formation of swamps, forests, and the Nile flower. Egypt is helping South Sudan utilise this water through building dams and marines, Raslan said.

The Egyptian  Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation held a launching conference in Wau on Wednesday.

The dam is located 12 km away from Wau city. Egyptian water experts have been to the dam site to conduct the studies required for its establishment.

This comes within the framework of Egypt’s keenness to continue the implementation of technical cooperation projects with South Sudan.

Egypt has granted South Sudan $26.6m based on a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the two countries.

On the other hand, Ethiopia began constructing the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in 2011. Since then, Egypt and Ethiopia have been locked in a diplomatic dispute, which reached a peak in 2013. Egypt, which utilises more Nile water than any other country, fears the dispute will have a detrimental effect on its share of the river’s water.

As per the 1929 and 1959 agreements, Egypt receives 55.5bn cubic metres of the estimated total 84bn cubic metres of Nile water produced each year, with Sudan receiving 18.5bn cubic metres. 86% of the Nile water flowing into Egypt originates from the Blue Nile, which has its source in Ethiopia. The White Nile, which flows through South Sudan, accounts the remaining water share.

Egypt rejected in early January the GERD’s current high storage capacity, at74bn cubic metres, as studies showed it will affect Egypt’s national water security.

Following President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi’s visit to the African Union summit in late January, a committee was formed between Ethiopia and Egypt’s foreign ministries, specifically for addressing water issues.

Related posts:

1. Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan to form expert committee on Ethiopian Dam
2. Ethiopia should build ‘smaller dam’: Minister of Irrigation
3. Solution has not been reached in dam talks: Egyptian, Ethiopian water ministries

Egypt supports South Sudan to secure Nile share - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

This

Ayah Aman

Contributor, Egypt Pulse

Ayah Aman is an Egyptian journalist for Al-Shorouk specializing in Africa and the Nile Basin, Turkey and Iran, and internal Egyptian social issues. On

Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/02/egypt-nile-water-south-sudan-development-projects.html##ixzz3SkTkOvN7 shows Mundari youth fishing with a spear along the Nile River, near Terekeka in South Sudan, April 13, 2014. (photo by ALI NGETHI/AFP/Getty Images)

Egypt supports South Sudan to secure Nile share

After negotiations between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan over Ethiopia’s Renaissance Dam failed to reach a clear agreement to reduce the potential negative effects on Egyptian water security, Cairo opted for strong political and technical moves to earn the trust of South Sudan. In addition to providing the new state with further support, Egypt hopes to secure its interests in the Nile's water, which comes from the equatorial lakes and passes through South Sudan’s territory.

Summary⎙ Print Egypt is implementing several water development projects in South Sudan as the negotiations with Ethiopia over the Renaissance Dam have yet to yield tangible results.

Author Ayah AmanPosted February 24, 2015

TranslatorSami-Joe Abboud

Egypt had received the head of state of South Sudan, Salva Kiir Mayardit, on Nov. 20, in his first visit to Cairo, during which a number of cooperation agreements were signed. Chief among these are the deals for the joint management of the Nile water between Cairo and Juba.

The agreement between Cairo and Juba on water management includes articles setting rules and mechanisms for cooperation between the two parties. The agreement provides for the establishment of an Egyptian-South Sudanese joint body tasked with the management of the Nile water. It also stipulates the dispatching of a permanent Egyptian irrigation mission to South Sudan, the setting of standards for the Nile water levels in South Sudan and the development of a mechanism to manage the waste water from Bahr el-Ghazal and facilitate the river's flow and stop its squandering.

Egyptian Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Hossam Maghazi told Al-Monitor, “The new cooperation agreement offers benefits and interests to both parties, as it is the first time a legal agreement has been signed to manage the Nile water issue between Cairo and Juba.” He explained, “Our primary goal is to develop water resources in the South Sudan state and develop a joint cooperation strategy that would preserve the historic right of Egypt and the development right of the Nile population,” adding, “We are well aware that the cooperation relations with South Sudan are of a special importance an nature.”

Maghazi has traveled to Juba twice since the signing of the agreement in Cairo — in December 2014 and in February 2015 — to enact the agreement as soon as possible, follow up on the implementation of the items agreed upon and dispatch the Egyptian irrigation mission to South Sudan.

Egypt had offered a nonrefundable grant to South Sudan during its secession from Sudan in 2009. The grant, valued at $26 million, was intended to support projects to develop the water resources in the south and establish rainwater storage wells and dams, securing safe water sources to the citizens of the south.

Ahmed Bahaa, the head of the Nile water sector in the Egyptian Ministry of Water, told Al-Monitor, “Half of the Egyptian grant has been used, and there are still projects underway to harvest rainwater and offer technical training and support.”

The most important issue that Egypt is expecting to negotiate with South Sudan is the resumption of the Jonglei Canal Project, which was halted as result of the North-South Sudanese civil war in 1983 after 70% of its excavation work was completed. However, officials in South Sudan have repeatedly stressed that their country has no intention of entering into negotiations about the project in light of the currently unstable political conditions and the popular rejection of the project.

An Egyptian diplomatic source told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, “Cairo still has a strong intention to restore the Jonglei project, which will be the best solution to increase Egypt's share of the Nile water in light of the concerns over the direct effects of the Renaissance Dam on the water flowing from east of the Nile to the High Dam lake.”

The source explained, “There are statistics and technical studies that confirm that South Sudan is the strongest alternative to increase the Nile capacity,” but stressed, “There is still a long way to adapt these studies both politically and diplomatically and ensure tangible results that would serve the interests of Egypt's water.”

Despite Cairo trying to take parallel roads to secure its share while continuing to negotiate with Ethiopia to reduce the potential risk of the Renaissance Dam — which is under construction — on the course of the Blue Nile, technical experts emphasized that such steps may be a waste of time. These experts called for political action to place pressure on Ethiopia to make real guarantees that the construction of the dam would not adversely affect Egypt.

Mohamed Nasreddin Allam, former Egyptian water minister and now a professor of water resources at Cairo University, told Al-Monitor, “South Sudan cannot replace Ethiopia in securing Egypt’s annual share of the Nile water, especially considering that Egypt only gets 15% of its water share from the White Nile — which passes through the territory of South Sudan — while the largest percentage comes from the Ethiopian Plateau.”

Allam added, “There is still a long way to go before we feel the results of cooperation with South Sudan, while all of the Egyptian actions are just long-term solutions aimed at avoiding the problems that would result from the Ethiopian dams.”

Considering the Ethiopian tendency to expand dam construction on the Nile for development considerations and the rest of the Nile headwaters countries’ political rejection of Egypt’s "absolute rights" in the Nile waters, Egypt is open to any possible solution in dealing with the Nile issue and securing its annual water share, estimated at 55.5 billion cubic meters, set by the 1959 agreement signed with Sudan.

Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/02/egypt-nile-water-south-sudan-development-projects.html##ixzz3SkTcUgkV

Egypt ends Nile conference boycott - rest-of-the-world - News - StarAfrica.com

Posted by: APA Posted date : February 22, 2015 at 12:57 pm UTC 74 views In: Rest-Of-The-World

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Egypt has attended a meeting of the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI), ending a five-year boycott due to a protracted dispute over a controversial agreement about sharing the waters of the river.Sudan’s minister for Irrigation and Electricity, Moatez Moussa, announced during a meeting of NBI countries in Khartoum on Saturday that for the first time it was being attended by officials from Cairo after years of absence.

Egypt has been boycotting NBI meetings since 2010 after five of its members, namely Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania, signed the Entebbe Agreement seeking to re-allocate the Nile water shares contrary to a colonial-era agreements on the issue.

The agreement with Britain gave Egypt the lion’s share of the Nile water.

In a statement Moussa said that the NBI members have agreed to prioritize the interests of their peoples and promote cooperation for the management and development of water resources for the benefit of citizens of Nile Basin countries.

Moussa stressed that only three articles were left to conclude the NBI legal framework that is currently considered by member states.

Egypt’s Water and Irrigation minister Hussam Maghazi was quoted earlier this week as saying that his country will push for new dispute resolution mechanisms.

“Egypt will put forth a new vision for the situation with the aim of reaching a win-win solution,� Maghazi said on Thursday, pointing out that Cairo will not sign the Entebbe Agreement in its current form.

The initiative was formally launched on 22 February 1999 by the water ministers of nine countries sharing the River Nile including Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), as well as Eritrea as an observer.

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Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan to meet in March over Renaissance Dam | Cairo Post

Feb. 11, 2015 11:00

Renaissance Dam - REUTERS

By THE CAIRO POST

CAIRO: Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan will meet March 1 in Khartoum to evaluate bids offered by consultation companies for conducting studies on the impact of the Ethiopian Grand Renaissance Dam on the Nile downstream countries, announced Egyptian Minister of Irrigation Houssam el-Moughazi Tuesday.

Moughazi  told Youm7 Tuesday the deadline for the five companies to submit their offers is on Feb, 21 and the TNC will study the offers in a 10-day period.

He noted that the office that will be chosen would conduct its studies in a period between 5 and 12 months.

The construction of the dam has chilled relations between Addis Ababa and Cairo; Egypt has stated the construction would affect its share of Nile water, whereas Ethiopia has claimed the dam is necessary for its development. But in a move some have seen as a thaw, both states agreed to the tripartite talks that started in August and were hosted by Sudan.

The three countries agreed during Cairo negotiations in October 2014 to choose a law office to contract with the consultant office that will be chosen by the 12-member Technical National Committee (TNC) of the three countries.

In May 2013, an advisory panel originally conducted a report on the dam’s impact on downstream countries Egypt and Sudan. However, Egypt rejected that report and the studies submitted by the Ethiopian side. The three countries started their negotiations in three sessions in November and December of 2013 and January 2014, but the talks came to an impasse after failing to reach an agreement to implement the report.

- Call for Cooperation and Exchange of Information about Renaissance DamSudan Vision Daily - Details

Khartoum - Sudan and Egypt have been reassured that the area of around the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is free of earthquakes and volcanoes.

Ethiopian Ambassador to Khartoum, Abadi Zemo said the people of the area will benefit from the establishment of the dam to generate electricity and will thus lead to industrial and agricultural development.

The ambassador said that it is natural that there is a divergence of views on the organisation of work in the partnership process of the information about the millennium dam.

He pointed out that the objective of the dam is to achieve a decent life for the citizens of Ethiopia, as a number of his country's population depend on agriculture and that the development allows them opportunities for cooperation with neighboring countries.

Zemo added that Ethiopia is collaborating to take advantage of the dam and which is reflected in the extension of the electricity supply lines to Kenya, adding that Sudan will benefit from this resource.

For his part, water resources adviser at the Ministry of Water Resources and Electricity, Osman Al-Tom said that Sudan and Ethiopia are linked by joint projects, including the Renaissance Dam, which cost US$5 billion, and generates electrical energy estimated at around 6,000 megawatts.

During the conference, "Renaissance Dam, optimum utilisation of water resources", organised by the Peace and Development Studies Centre of Khartoum North University, in collaboration with the Ethiopian Embassy in Khartoum, Al-Tom said that Sudan, Egypt and other African countries could benefit from the dam in terms of electric power.

He reviewed the benefits of the dam in the provision and storage of water during periods of flooding and drought, while reducing the amount of silt in the Roseiris Dam.

Al-Tom called for cooperation, planning, coordination, and exchange of information regarding the operation and filling of the dam and the importance of clarifying the economic and social impacts on the three countries, Sudan, Egypt, and Ethiopia.

For his part, Dr. Elias Lewi, from Addis Ababa University, said that work on the dam is going well and that its building is designed according to international standards, announcing that electric power transmission lines were completed.

He pointed out that the dam reduces silting in the Sudanese dams and contributes to reduce evaporation, besides water storage.

Lewi said that the dam enables Sudan to generate green energy, increase fisheries, provides clean energy and promote regional economic integration.