Consultancy firms on Ethiopia's dam delay submittal of technical report

The French and Dutch consultancy firms tasked with technical studies on the impacts of Ethiopia's Grand Renaissance Dam (GERD) requested a three-day delay of reports for amendments, adviser to irrigation minister Alaa Yassin said.

Upon the delay, the meeting of the tripartite committee planned to be held in Cairo on Monday will be postponed for three days, Yassin added.

Twelve experts from the three countries had been convening in a series of meetings to discuss picking the consultancy firms and its reports.

The firms were selected following a round of tripartite talks among water ministers of Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia held in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on April 8-9.

Egypt fears the Ethiopian dam will affect its historical Nile water share of 55 billion square meters.