Ethiopia’s mega dam on the Nile River, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) will be completed in four years, by 2022, a senior official said.

The GERD, which was originally scheduled to be completed and go operational in 2017, was launched in April 2011. This comes at least four years behind schedule, which is mainly due to defects with the hydro electrical plant’s equipment.

The Ethiopian Minister of Water, Irrigation and Electricity, Sileshi Bekele, said, "We first noticed problems with the dam's electro-mechanical and metal works two years ago but we only started taking detailed measurements in the past few months." The installation of the electro-mechanical works of the dam, which is said to be the most sophisticated part of the whole work, is taken away from the previous contractor for the work, the military-run Metal and Engineering Corporation (METEC). The former heads of METEC have recently been charged with corruption and embezzlement.

According to Kifle Hora, the dam’s project manager, before its completion by 2022, the dam is planned to start generating power from its first two units within the coming two years. Kifle Hora also added that the work on the dam has continued without interruption.

When completed, the dam will be the biggest in Africa and seventh largest in the world with a capacity of generating 6.45 GW.

Top Image: The GERD; Source: Hydro Power

Sources: The Tribune, EBC