Jun 23 , 2019
President Sahlework Zewde (right) and Seleshi Bekele (PhD) (left), minister of Water & Irrigation, attended a symposium dubbed Ethiopia Water & Energy Week on June 17, 2019, at the Ethiopian Skylight Hotel. President Sahlework Zewde (right) and Seleshi Bekele (PhD) (left), minister of Water & Irrigation, attended a symposium dubbed Ethiopia Water & Energy Week on June 17, 2019, at the Ethiopian Skylight Hotel. The event attracted a wide range of professionals, researchers and leaders from various sectors, both local and international.
Organised under the headline “Transformation of Water & Energy Sector for Ethiopia’s New Horizon of Hope,” it underscored the irony that it is being held at a time when the sector is delivering more hope than results. The country is going through a power rationing scheme where households and businesses go dark for eight hours a day. The official reason for the power rationing is that the nation’s hydroelectric dams are operating at half their capacities due to lack of water in their reservoirs.
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, the largest hydroelectric dam project in Africa, was launched with much public fanfare and anticipation but is now languishing in delays and cost overruns. Initially budgeted for 80 billion Br, the project cost has since mushroomed to 98 billion Br. Ethiopians from all walks of life have contributed over 12 billion Birr to date for the project. The Ministry has done its best to use the opportunity offered by the occasion to reboot the public’s enthusiasm in the project by showing off a model of its progress and by updating Sahlework on its current efforts. The symposium had various items on its three-day agenda including plenary sessions, presentations and a tree planting event. A range of discussions were held covering water and energy sector issues, sanitation and hygiene, basin development, irrigation, energy and the submission of several research findings.
PUBLISHED ON
Jun 23,2019 [ VOL
20 , NO
999]
Fortune News | Aug 28,2021
Fortune News | Jun 11,2022
Commentaries | Oct 16,2020
Verbatim | Nov 18,2023
Agenda | Apr 03,2021
Agenda | Oct 22,2022
Fortune News | Nov 24,2024
Fortune News | Nov 20,2023
Films Review | Jun 20,2020
Dec 22 , 2024 . By TIZITA SHEWAFERAW
Charged with transforming colossal state-owned enterprises into modern and competitiv...
Aug 18 , 2024 . By AKSAH ITALO
Although predictable Yonas Zerihun's job in the ride-hailing service is not immune to...
Jul 28 , 2024 . By TIZITA SHEWAFERAW
Unhabitual, perhaps too many, Samuel Gebreyohannes, 38, used to occasionally enjoy a couple of beers at breakfast. However, he recently swit...
Jul 13 , 2024 . By AKSAH ITALO
Investors who rely on tractors, trucks, and field vehicles for commuting, transporting commodities, and f...
Aug 23 , 2025
Banks have a new obsession. After decades chasing deposits and, more recently, digita...
Aug 16 , 2025
A decade ago, a case in the United States (US) jolted Wall Street. An ambulance opera...
Aug 9 , 2025
In the 14th Century, the Egyptian scholar Ibn Khaldun drew a neat curve in the sand....
Aug 2 , 2025
At daybreak on Thursday last week, July 31, 2025, hundreds of thousands of Ethiop...
Loading your updates...