Under the title "Ethiopia Opens the Upper Gates of the Renaissance Dam: Concerns in Sudan," Sky News Arabia published a special article addressing the crisis surrounding the Renaissance Dam and Sudan's concerns regarding Ethiopia opening the upper gates of the dam. According to informed sources, Ethiopia has started to open the upper gates of the Renaissance Dam in preparation for the second filling process, raising questions about the impact of this action on Sudan and its water resources.
A source following the construction operations of the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam reported to Sky News Arabia that the upper gates were opened on Wednesday at a water level of 540 meters. This is aimed at reducing water levels in preparation for concrete pouring and raising the dam to a height that could reach 595 meters, as planned by Ethiopia ahead of starting the second filling of the dam reservoir within the next two months. The Ethiopia in Arabic page, which advocates for Ethiopia's right to proceed with the dam project, published photos claiming to show the process of opening the upper gates of the dam.
**Fears and Reassurances**
Sudan had previously urged Ethiopia not to proceed unilaterally with the second filling plan, noting that the absence of a clear data coordination mechanism could impact the safety of the Rosiers Dam in Sudan, located 100 kilometers from the Ethiopian dam. It could also lead to a severe shortage of drinking water similar to what occurred last year when Ethiopia unexpectedly filled the dam reservoir by 4.9 billion cubic meters.
However, dam expert Abubakar Mustafa told Sky News Arabia that opening these gates and releasing an amount of up to one billion cubic meters would allow Sudan to store water in the nearby Rosiers Dam, enabling it to draw water when Sudan has urgent needs for electricity generation.
**Sensitive Timing**
This development comes less than 48 hours after Sudanese Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok called on his Egyptian counterpart Mustafa Madbouly and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to hold a tripartite summit to discuss the disputes surrounding the Renaissance Dam, which have recently focused on a binding agreement and the second filling of the reservoir. The invitation raised an important question regarding the available options to revive negotiations and whether the three countries could renew their political commitment and reach an agreement in a timely manner, in accordance with the principles agreement signed by the three countries on March 23, 2015.
Negotiations regarding the Ethiopian dam have reached an impasse after the failure of meetings hosted in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, from April 4 to April 6 this month.
