Ethiopia made history on Tuesday with the inauguration of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), the largest hydropower project ever built in Africa.

 

A monumental infrastructure designed and constructed by Webuild, the GERD marks the beginning of a new era for the country, placing it at the heart of the continent’s green transition. The official ceremony was attended by Pietro Salini, Chief Executive of Webuild, alongside Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali and the Heads of State of African countries that share with Ethiopia a common goal of growth and unity.

 

Given its extraordinary scale and unprecedented engineering complexity, the GERD — commissioned by Ethiopian Electric Power — stands as one of the world’s most ambitious and advanced infrastructure projects in recent years. With an installed production capacity of more than 5,000 MW and an expected annual output of 15,700 GWh, the GERD can generate energy equivalent to three medium-sized nuclear power plants. Its reservoir stretches 172 kilometers, able to hold up to 74 billion cubic meters of water, making the GERD the largest hydropower project in Africa.

 

The main dam stands 170 metres tall and spans 1,800 m at the crest, with a volume of 10.7 million cubic metres of concrete — earning it the record as the largest roller-compacted concrete (RCC) gravity dam ever built in Africa by volume. On December 28, 2014, the construction site set a world record by laying 23,000 cubic metres of RCC in just 24 hours, an achievement that highlights the project’s engineering and organizational excellence, said a statement.

 

The GERD has transformed the surrounding area, generating a positive economic and social impact: a new town has emerged around the site, complete with a hospital, two equipped medical clinics, a school, sports facilities, a bakery producing injera (a traditional Ethiopian flatbread), and road infrastructure that will remain as a legacy of the project for local communities. Over 25,000 people — mostly Ethiopians — worked on the project, gaining skills and expertise that can be applied to future projects.

 

The hydropower project embodies a long-term vision and serves as a tool for national growth, aligning itself with the goals of Italy’s Mattei Plan under the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government, which aims to involve Italian companies in major projects that support the development of African nations.

 

The GERD is part of a broader journey in which Webuild has played a leading role in Ethiopia for over 70 years, completing 30 projects, particularly in the hydroelectric sector. These include the Beles Multipurpose Project, featuring an underground power station — the largest in the country at the time of its inauguration — and the Gibe III dam on the Omo River, standing 250 meters tall and, at the time of its opening, the tallest RCC dam in the world. Currently under construction is the Koysha dam, Ethiopia’s second-largest hydroelectric project after the GERD, which will further contribute to the country’s energy transition.

 

With GERD, Webuild reaffirms its global leadership and its ability to deliver large-scale, complex, and sustainable infrastructure. Its track record includes the construction of 318 dams and hydroelectric plants worldwide, with a total capacity of 53,659 MW. The group is working on other projects that will provide 14,000 MW of installed capacity and deliver clean, affordable energy to millions of people globally, helping to avoid 13 million tons of CO₂ emissions annually. - TradeArabia News Service