The International Rivers, an environmental and human rights NGO, has voiced discontent regarding Ethiopia’s construction of the $1.7 Gibe III Dam. The group’s protest in the form of a press release precedes the African Development Bank (AfDB)’s two-day Annual Meeting in Senegal from May 13-14.
The NGO’s position is that while the global financial crisis calls for wise investment of dwindling capital flows, Directors of the AfDB are considering funding this project that serves special interests but “hurts the poor and the environment.” According to the release, Gibe III would be one of the largest infrastructure projects ever funded by the AfDB.
The investment into the Gibe III would mean valuable resources would be depleted, according to the group. The International Rivers insists that if built, the dam will harm the Omo River’s natural flood cycle, and will reduce food security of up to half a million poor farmers, herders, and fishers.
The group also claims that the construction of the Gibe III project began in 2006 in violation of Ethiopia’s laws on environmental protection and procurement. The contract was awarded without competitive bidding to Italian construction giant Salini, raising serious questions about the project’s integrity. Project impact assessments were prepared after construction began and disregard the project’s most serious consequences, it added.