Egypt ‘highly sensitive’ toward any Nile dam project

Egypt is “highly sensitive” toward any project to store the Nile’s water in upstream countries as it might reduce the country’s water supply, Egyptian irrigation minister Hossam Moghazi said in remarks carried by state news agency MENA Tuesday.

During his meeting with a Sudanese media delegation, Moghazi described Egypt’s current share of Nile water as already not enough to cover the country's needs.

With Egypt’s population expected to reach 150 million in 2050, the country will likely need an additional 21 billion cubic meters of water per year to meet its projected demands, Egypt's National Planning Institute has said.

Egypt is currently dealing with Ethiopia, which is building a large dam on the Blue Nile - the Nile’s largest tributary - to include a 74-billion-cubic-metre reservoir when finished.

Addis Ababa claims the dam would not harm downstream countries Egypt and Sudan.

Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia all agreed to select a consulting firm to conduct an impact study on the dam’s construction but so far no company has been shortlisted.

At the opening ceremony of the economic conference in the resort Red Sea city of Sharm al-Sheikh on Friday, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said: “The Nile constitutes a common destiny: we either sink or swim together … We chose to swim together.”