Official signing
The technical consultancy contract being signed is part of the main grant agreement which the Norwegian government signed with the Ethiopian government in November 2009 regarding the Feasibility Studies of Mandaya and Beko Abo Multipurpose Project.
The technical consultancy contract was signed by H.E Ato Asfaw Dingamo, Minister of the Ministry of Water Resources, and by the representative of the Joint Venture, Mr. Tom Ødegaard, in the presence of the Norwegian Ambassador H.E Mr Jens-Petter Kjemprud, State Minister of the Ministry of Water Resources, H.E Ato Adunga Jebessa, other representatives from the Norwegian Embassy, Ministry of Water Resources and Shebele Consult.
Two large dams
During the technical feasibility study, the consultancy firm is expected to deal with the technical and economic aspects of the Mandaya and Beko Abo Dams, including the finalization of appropriate designs.
The Mandaya and Beko Abo Dams are situated in the Blue Nile Sub-basin and among the top high dams in the world, respectively having a 200 mts and 285 mts height, an installed capacity of 2000 MW and 2100 MW and an annual energy output of 12,119 GWh/year and 12,600 GWh/year.
A multipurpose project
The project is called a multipurpose project because of its advantages in power generation and regional power trade, soil and water conservation, flood and siltation control especially in the downstream countries of Sudan and Egypt.
The over all goal of the multipurpose project is reliable and environmentally sustainable power supply and improved living condition for Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt, while its purpose is to make the projects attractive for private investors, to increase the capacity of the Ministry of Water Resources and to increase regional cooperation.
An important step
On the signing ceremony of this technical consultancy contract, the Minister stressed the need to have a carefully planned and sustainably designed hydropower schemes in order to make such scheme play a considerable role in the socio-economic development of the country.
The Norwegian Ambassador on his partsaid he was proud that a Norwegian company had won the tender process and that the long standing cooperation between Norway and Ethiopia on developing the hydropower resources now continues.
In addition to the ongoing bilateral support, Norway has been supporting the Nile Basin Initiative and the Eastern African Power Pool.