There are still disagreements between Addis Ababa and Khartoum and Cairo on the revival of the dam. Ethiopia is building the dam 15 kilometers from the border with Sudan at a cost of 5 billion U.S. dollars. The dam has a water storage capacity of approximately 740 One hundred million cubic meters.
Every day, many mediations seem to bring the opinions closer, including various mediations or American initiatives. The African Union’s continuous efforts have been in vain. At the same time, Ethiopia seems determined to start a second impoundment of the Renaissance Dam within a few days. , Was indifferent to the claims by Egypt and Sudan that there is a potential risk for the second impoundment of the dam.
On Thursday, the United Nations Security Council will convene an emergency meeting to discuss progress in the dispute over the rehabilitation of the dam in Ethiopia, and aims to intervene to prevent the unilateral impoundment of the dam. However, the initial comments made by the French representative to the Security Council are not in the interests of Egypt and Sudan, because the French representative hinted that negotiations should only be conducted between the three countries. Cairo was not satisfied with this statement.
Change of position
According to observers and experts, perhaps Sudan’s hardline stance, or Khartoum’s shift from supporting the dam to rejecting it, was due to Ethiopia’s first impoundment of the Renaissance Dam (July 2020). Unilateral action. At that time, Ethiopia did not notify or coordinate with Sudan. This action affected Sudan’s water supply stations and caused some water stations to be dry and dry.
According to officials, the strategy of the Sudanese negotiating delegation has changed due to the failure to communicate information through a binding agreement on all parties so that the dam will not change from a development project to a change in the use of water weapons. A political project that balances regional political games has become a security threat to Sudan.
In addition, Ethiopia plans to build three dams besides the Fuxing Dam, namely the Kaldaviba, Biko Abu and Mandaya dams, with an estimated water storage capacity of about 200 billion cubic meters, which has accelerated Sudan’s change of position. Bring it closer to the Egyptian position.
emergency plan
As the accusations between Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia continue to escalate, and the second impoundment of the Renaissance Dam has begun, the Sudanese government announced that it will implement a contingency plan to deal with any water shortages that may arise.
The Reservoir Department of the Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources announced that after the reservoirs were emptied, the Jebel Awliya and Rosereis dams lacked about 600 million cubic meters of water to ensure the White Nile and the Main Nile. Work on the pumping station continues. This is the first step that may not be enough, given that most Nile basin countries are struggling to obtain a greater share of water resources to ensure hydroelectric power generation, agricultural projects and other projects.
Al Jazeera’s cameras monitored the changes in the dam’s reservoir by conducting a field visit in the Jebel Afria Dam reservoir area south of Khartoum, ensuring the estimated water share, and in addition, opening the dam reservoir , Let the water flow along the lake to southern Sudan.
Engineer Mutasim Al-Awad, director of the Reservoir Department of the Ministry of Irrigation of Sudan, told Al Jazeera that the Ministry of Irrigation, based on technical research work, changed its reservoir operation policy this year to cope with the expected impact of the Renaissance Dam.
The Jebel Afria Dam is located on the White Nile River in Sudan, 44 kilometers south of the capital Khartoum (Al Jazeera)Mutassem Awad added that with regard to the second water storage operation of the Renaissance Dam, “The Ministry of Irrigation of Sudan-through technical research-has taken the necessary preventive measures and measures to reduce the water storage of the Renaissance Dam. The negative impact on Sudan’s reservoirs and irrigation projects has changed the operating policies of the reservoirs, especially the Rosales Dam and the Jebel Afria Dam reservoir.”.
Awad added that the daily emissions of the White Nile River ranged from 60 million to 70 million cubic meters per day, and this year due to heavy rains on Lake Victoria and the tropical plateau, its daily emissions reached 100 million cubic meters per day.
The Rosales Dam reservoir will maintain a water storage capacity of about 1 billion cubic meters in July to meet the agricultural and drinking water needs of the Blue Nile and the Nile.
Lack of strategic vision
Many experts in Sudan believe that it is necessary to develop an agreed national strategy for Sudan to invest in its water resources. Professor Mohamed Hussein Abu Saleh, Professor of Strategic Planning and National Security at the University of Sudan, confirmed this. Explain that the world is witnessing a steady increase in population and a significant shortage of agricultural land. Therefore, the world food crisis is exacerbated by water shortages.
Abu Saleh said that one of the six inevitable conditions of war is water, which prompted Sudan to clarify its strategic vision on water use, through this strategy to ensure food demand, develop water resources and make use of them.
Abu Saleh blamed this defect on the fact that Sudan’s inability to benefit from its share of the Nile waters was due to lack of vision or decision-making centers. Therefore, Sudan made a breakthrough. He also pointed out that Sudan needs to obtain water and believes that, The problem of bridging the global food shortage is not only accomplished through only 18 billion cubic meters of Nile water, but also requires groundwater and rainwater.
Saleh added: “Sudan receives about 450 billion cubic meters of water and, through scientific and strategic work, successfully built 13 new sustainable rivers, such as Kur Abu Habu II in western Sudan, which will automatically Sudan has become the world’s food basket.”
Benefits of Fuxing Dam
On the other hand, Sudan acknowledged that if all the disputes between Khartoum and Addis Ababa are agreed in detail, the revival of the dam will bring huge benefits to both countries. Dr. Barbik Ibrahim Bersi, a professor at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Khartoum and a water resource expert, believes that the Renaissance Dam has many positive factors, the most important of which is that it will regulate the flow of the Blue Nile River, thereby enabling Sudan is able to use its remaining share, an estimated 6.5 billion cubic meters per year, and these water resources are shipped to Egypt every year because Sudan does not have enough storage containers to store this amount of water.
Dr. Barbic Ibrahim Bersi added that the revitalization of the dam will increase the power generation of the Roseres Dam by nearly 50%, increase the power generation of the Merowe Dam by 20%, and raise the Blue Nile. And the water level of the main rivers of the Nile, thereby reducing the cost of electricity consumption for irrigation projects.
On the other hand, there seems to be more than one opinion in Sudan regarding the development of the dam operation in Ethiopia, especially the disagreement between street people and experts. The official reaction within Khartoum sometimes welcomes the dam and sometimes threatens its danger. Many people believe that the lack of a strategic vision could severely affect Sudan’s water resources and undermine plans for investment in projects that ensure the future of future generations.
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