Ethiopia Inaugurates Africa’s Largest Hydropower Dam, Sparking Regional Impact

Ethiopia officially inaugurated the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in September 2025, marking the culmination of over 14 years of work and positioning the country as a regional electricity distributor. The dam, built on the Blue Nile, is Africa's largest hydropower facility and has created Lake Nigat, one of the world's largest artificial lakes, which at full capacity holds 74 billion cubic meters of water and stretches 246 kilometers. The GERD has become a symbol of national pride and unity in Ethiopia, funded largely by Ethiopian citizens and diaspora, aiming to meet domestic energy needs and boost electricity exports to neighboring countries and beyond. However, the dam has intensified regional tensions, especially with Egypt, which fears significant reductions in its Nile water supply. The construction reflects a long-standing partnership with the Italian firm Salini (now Webuild), which has been pivotal in Ethiopia's dam-building efforts for six decades, shaping the country's infrastructure and geopolitics. This legacy underscores both the engineering achievement and the complex environmental and diplomatic challenges arising from large-scale water resource management in the region.