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The Tallest Dam in the world is nearly finished in Ethiopia

The World's tallest dam is under construction in Ethiopia and BBC Special report has extensive coverage on the construction and the controversies surrounding the dam.

By Peter Greste
BBC News, Ethiopia

Deep in the gorge country that falls off the Ethiopian plateau, workers in boots and hard hats are hammering, drilling, blasting and digging their way into the mountainside for the foundations of the vast wall that will, when finished, create the second largest hydroelectricity dam in sub-Saharan Africa.

Teams of workers are blasting out the "keyhole" - the slot in the side of the valley that will hold the dam wall in place.

Others are finishing the concrete lining to the last of three 1,000m long tunnels that have already begun diverting the Omo River waters around the main construction site.

The Gibe III dam is under construction on the Omo River, approximately 300km southwest of Addis Ababa. It is the third in a series of cascading hydroelectric projects in the region.

The first, the Gilgel Gibe dam (also called Gibe I), was completed north of the Gibe III dam site in 2004. The Gibe II project is a power plant associated with the Gibe I dam that is still under construction.

The new Gibe III dam is expected to produce 6500 GWh of energy a year, and surplus energy is expected to create 300 million euros (£282m; $407m) in revenue, according to the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo), the sole provider of power in Ethiopia.

Ethiopia's neighbours, such as Djibouti, Yemen, Kenya, Uganda, Sudan and Egypt, would all be in a position to purchase the excess energy.

EEPCo sees another benefit of the project in regulating the flow of the river, which floods annually, and thereby making it navigable all year.

The resulting reservoir of approximately 200 sq km would be used as a fishery, according to an environmental and social impact assessment by EEPCo.

Read More from BBC News including Pictures, Video report

Editor's Note: I encourage all of our readers to visit BBC website and watch the video and read all about the project.

Ethiopia fares better than U.S in Political Instability Index - EIU

nazret.com - Ethiopia has scored surprisingly well in Political Instability Index compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). According to EIU's Political Instability Index, Ethiopia is ranked 117th, ranking better than France, USA and Iceland. But Ethiopia's risk for social unrest has increased since 2007. Eritrea remains to be at a high risk of political unrest as the economic situation worsens. Ethiopia's risk is moderate.

Zimbabwe tops a list of countries at very high risk of social and political unrest as the impact of the global recession unfolds, according to an index developed by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

Ethiopia has a Political Instability Index of 5.1 and ranks 117th, and Zimbabwe with an index of 8.5 ranks as the most unstable country topping the list. USA has a Political Instability Index of 5.3 and ranks 110.

The report defines social and political unrest or upheaval as those events or developments that pose a serious extra-parliamentary or extra-institutional threat to governments or the existing political order. The events will almost invariably be accompanied by some violence as well as public disorder. These need not necessarily succeed in toppling a government or regime. Even unsuccessful episodes result in turmoil and serious disruption.

The overall index on a scale of 0 (no vulnerability) to 10 (highest vulnerability)has two component indexes an index of underlying vulnerability and an economic distress index. The overall index is a simple average (on a 1-10 scale) of the two component indexes. There are 15 indicators in all-12 for the underlying and 3 for the economic distress index. Underlying vulnerability indicators are: inequality; state history; corruption; ethnic fragmentation; trust in institutions; status of minorities; history of political instability; proclivity to labour unrest; level of social provision; a country’s neighbourhood; regime type (full democracy, "flawed" democracy, hybrid or authoritarian); and the interaction of regime type with political factionalism.

Least Stable
1 Zimbabwe
2. Chad
3. Congo Kinshasa
4. Cambodia
5. Sudan
6. Iraq
7. Cote dIvoire
Haiti
Pakistan
Afghanistan
Central African Republic

Most Stable

1. Norway
2. Denmark
3. Canada
4. Sweden
5. Finland
6. Switzerland
7. Mauritius
8. Costa Rica
9. New Zealand
10. Luxemberg

See complete table

Related Links


Who's at risk as deepening economic distress foments social unrest? (Economist Intelligence Unit Special Report)

See the complete table and Have Your Say. What do you make of this report, have your say

Editor's Note: The Economist Intelligence Unit will have a webinar to discuss the report on April 9, 2009. Space is limited. Reserve your webinar seat now!

HAVE YOUR SAY

Ethiopian flower farm

Ethiopia's struggling flower farms appeal for help

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopian flower-growers appealed on Wednesday for help from airlines, banks and suppliers to keep their industry going as some farms begin to close due to the global slump.

Addis Ababa is seeking to compete with neighbour and major flower exporter Kenya, and believes horticulture could eventually overtake coffee in earnings. In the 2007/2008 season Ethiopia earned more than $525 million from coffee, accounting for about 60 percent of its hard currency earnings.


Read More from Reuters ...

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Ethiopia shuts Warehouses of Largest Coffee Exporters

By Jason McLure

March 25 (Bloomberg) -- Ethiopia closed the warehouses of the country’s six largest coffee exporters and suspended their licenses after accusing the brokers of hoarding the beans, the government said.

“They have five days to appeal their case,” Ermias Legesse, the state minister of government communication affairs, said by phone from the capital, Addis Ababa, toda


Read More from Bloomberg News

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Ethiopia seizes 17,000 T of coffee from exporters

By Tsegaye Tadesse

ADDIS ABABA, March 25 (Reuters) - Ethiopia seized 17,000 tonnes of coffee from exporters on Wednesday and revoked the licences of six companies accused of hoarding their stocks.

"They refused to comply with government orders to export the beans," Agriculture Minister Tefera Derebew told Reuters.

"It was time for the government to take action."

Tefera said the licences of 88 independent traders had also been cancelled for failing to heed the authorities.

Ethiopia, Africa's biggest coffee producer, prides itself as the birthplace of the bean.

Read More from Reuters ...

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Meles warns coffee exporters against hoarding

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Coffee exports plummet below target

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Ethiopia - Profile of Meles Zenawi on G20 Summit Website

G20 Summit

Meles Zenawi, Prime Minister of Ethiopia, has been Chair of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) since 6 June 2007.

Zenawi was born on 8 May 1955 at Adwa in northern Ethiopia. He got a scholarship to prestigious General Wingate School (Addis Ababa) in 1968. In 1972 studied medicine at Addis Ababa University. He graduated with an MBA from the Open University in 1995, with 14 other senior members of government.

He is married to Lemlem Mesfin and has three children.