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Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan's irrigation ministers signed an agreement to conduct two studies to gauge the effects of Ethiopia's Grand Renaissance Dam on its neighbouring countries, state-run news agency MENA reported on Tuesday.
The dam has been a source of concern for the Egyptian government since
May 2013, when images of its construction stirred public anxiety about
the possible impact on Egypt's potable water supply.
A joint statement by the ministers after a two-day meeting in Khartoum
revealed that the studies were suggested by the committee of
international experts tasked to revise the dam's impact.
An international consulting company will conduct the two studies.
A "national expert committee" will be formed to agree on the framework
of conducting the studies. The committee, comprised of four experts from
each of the three countries, has been given a six-month deadline
starting from 1 September to formulate a timeframe to carry out the
reports.
Ethiopia's irrigation minister also invited his Egyptian and Ethiopian
counterparts to visit the construction site of the dam in the near
future.
Egypt's Irrigation Minister Hossam El-Moghazi said that Ethiopia agreed to be bound by the findings of the consultancy company.
When asked about the declarations of his Ethiopian counterpart that the
dam's construction will go ahead as planned, El-Moghazi told reporters
that Ethiopia will finish the first phase as scheduled by September 2015
and will then take into consideration the findings of the consultancy
agency.
El-Moghazi also revealed that the meeting didn't touch on technical
details such as the dimensions or length of the dam needed to fill its
reservoir as these items will be the responsibility of the committee. http://english.ahram.org.eg
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