Ethiopia continues to face problems over its hydropower plants with the latest headache coming from the United Nations (UN). The UN’s World Heritage Committee has urged Ethiopia to immediately halt the construction of its Gibe III hydropower project. The body said the erection of the dam could threaten the existence of Lake Turkana and residents that depend on the body of water for livelihood.
The Gibe III’s construction was undertaken by Italian firm Salini Construction, but that relationship ended after the collapse of the Gibe II on February 5, 2010. Chinese firm Dongfang Electric Corp. took over Salini’s stakes in the Gibe III by investing $459 million in the project, which prompted rumors that Ethiopia would reject funds from the European Investment Bank (EIB) and African Development Bank (AfDB). Then in July 2010, the EIB announced that it would no longer be involved in the 1,800 MW project (EIB Drops Out of Ethiopia’s Gibe III).
The EIB had conducted a range of technical, environmental, and social studies and had secured capital to proceed with further studies. These future studies were set to focus mainly on the project’s impact to the downstream area, including Lake Turkana – the only remaining desert lake in the world. And now the UN’s World Heritage Committee has petitioned Ethiopia and China to stop the project. The dam is expected to be complete in 2012, and it is unlikely that China or Ethiopia will accommodate to the UN in it’s request.
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