Awramba Times (Arbaminch, Ethiopia) –
The Gilgel Gibe III hydroelectric power project, located about 92 km northwest of Arbaminch in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ region, officially inaugurated in the presence of high level government officials including prime minister Hailemariam Desalegn today.
Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, said at the inaugural ceremony that the accomplishment of the dam construction became a reality after successfully overcoming various trying challenges that happened in the process of construction.
“The power we get from gibe 3 and other dams on the pipe line can enable the country to strengthen its capacity to connect with neighboring countries and generate income from the sector more than ever” the prime minister added.
The project, the third largest hydroelectric plant in Africa with a power output of about 1870 Megawatt (MW), will increase Ethiopia’s power generation capacity by 234% according to Azeb Asnake, CEO of Ethiopian Electric power.
The power will provide an important contribution to Ethiopia’s socio-economic development by feeding the country’s grid as well as facilitating more power to the country’s power-export program and assisting regional integration among neighboring countries through the interconnected power links.
Responding to a question raised by Dawit Kebede of Awramba Times in August 2010, the late Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi vowed to complete the dam “at any cost”, saying about critics of the dam that “They don’t want to see developed Africa; they want us to remain undeveloped and backward to serve their tourists as a museum.” Please watch below
Source:: http://www.awrambatimes.com/?p=15772