Egypt has "no objection" to plans by certain countries of the Nile Basin to build dams on the river for electricity generation, provided such moves do not affect Egypt’s historical share of Nile water, Egyptian Irrigation and Water Resources Minister Nasr al-Din Allam said this weekend.
Last week, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni held discussions with Southern Sudan President Salva Kiir during which the two men reportedly raised the possibility of building a small dam and several power stations to meet southern Sudan's electricity needs.
Allam stressed that Egypt had agreed in 2007 to a Ugandan proposal to build a number of small upstream dams for electricity generation. “Egypt is currently preparing a feasibility study on the proposed construction of a dam on the White Nile in southern Sudan to generate power,” he said, noting that the proposed dam would not consume river water.
He went on to say that the states of the Nile Basin regularly briefed Egypt about proposed dam-building activities, since Egypt, as a downstream country, stood to be affected by such projects.
“We plan to fully coordinate with those countries that intend to carry out such projects once we ensure that the projects in question would not affect us in any way,” said Allam.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
