Ethiopia on Saturday inaugurated a hydroelectric dam that aims to double the country’s electricity output, but which critics say is a threat to locals and a UNESCO-listed lake in Kenya. The Gibe III dam, which reaches 243 metres in height, is the third-largest dam in Africa and the biggest in a series built along the Omo River. When it comes fully online, the Gibe III is expected to produce 1,870 megawatts of power, enough to sell energy abroad including to neighbouring Kenya.

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But environmentalists and rights groups warn the project will dramatically decrease water levels downstream all the way to Kenya’s Lake Turkana, which derives 80 per cent of its resources from the river.

The lives of hundreds of thousands of people who make their living in the Omo River valley and on Turkana, both UNESCO World Heritage sites, would be affected, they say. UNESCO has previously condemned the project and Human Rights Watch has accused the Ethiopian government of pushing people from the Omo Valley to free up land for state sugar cane plantations.

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Gibe III, located about 350 kilometres southwest of Addis Ababa, took nine years to build and cost 1.5 billion euros (USD 1.6 billion), with 60 per cent of financing coming from the Chinese export credit agency China Exim Bank. Local radio reported that Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn and other ministers attended the inauguration, held a year after the dam began generating electricity.

With no natural gas or oil reserves of its own, Ethiopia is banking on renewable energy to help foster energy independence and economic growth. Its Grand Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile, which is slated to be Africa’s largest-ever dam, is expected to produce 6,000 megawatts — tantamount to six nuclear reactors — when it is completed in 2017.

The Blue and the White Nile rivers converge in Khartoum and from there run north into Egypt as the Nile. But the project has poisoned relations with Egypt, which is almost totally reliant on the Nile for agriculture and drinking water, and fears the dam will hit its supplies.</s>The Gibe III dam, which reaches 243 metres (800 feet) in height, is the third-largest dam in Africa and the biggest in a series built along the Omo River. By (AFP/File)

Addis Ababa (AFP) - Ethiopia on Saturday inaugurated a hydroelectric dam that aims to double the country's electricity output, but which critics say is a threat to locals and a UNESCO-listed lake in Kenya.

The Gibe III dam, which reaches 243 metres (800 feet) in height, is the third-largest dam in Africa and the biggest in a series built along the Omo River.

When it comes fully online, the Gibe III is expected to produce 1,870 megawatts of power, enough to sell energy abroad including to neighbouring Kenya. The dam has been generating electricity for about a year.

"This hydroelectricity plant, with other ongoing projects, fulfils our domestic power needs and will be provided for foreign markets," Ethiopia's Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said in a speech inaugurating the dam.

But environmentalists and rights groups warn the project will dramatically decrease water levels downstream all the way to Kenya's Lake Turkana, which derives 80 percent of its resources from the river.

The lives of hundreds of thousands of people who make their living in the Omo River valley and on Turkana, both UNESCO World Heritage sites, would be affected, they say.

UNESCO has previously condemned the project and Human Rights Watch has accused the Ethiopian government of uprooting people from the Omo Valley to free up land for state-run sugar cane plantations.

"The project has overcome challenges such as financial and environment issues," Desalegn said. "Some people who think they have a concern for the environment have been downgrading the project rather than being reasonable."

Project boosters say the dam will allow authorities to better regulate the flow of the Omo, which spools out over 700 kilometres. They also deny the dam is primarily a way to ensure a steady flow of water to irrigate cotton and sugar cane plantations.

Gibe III, located about 350 kilometres (220 miles) southwest of Addis Ababa, took nine years to build and cost 1.5 billion euros ($1.6 billion), with 60 percent of financing coming from the Chinese export credit agency China Exim Bank.

Ethiopia was the world's fastest growing economy last year at 10.2 percent, however the International Monetary Fund estimates that the worst drought in 30 years is likely to see this plummet to 4.5 percent in 2016.

With no natural gas or oil reserves of its own, the Horn of Africa country is banking on renewable energy to help foster energy independence and economic growth.

Its Grand Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile, which is slated to be Africa's largest-ever dam, is expected to produce 6,000 megawatts -- tantamount to six nuclear reactors -- when it is completed in 2017.

The Blue and the White Nile rivers converge in Khartoum and from there run north into Egypt as the Nile.

But the project has poisoned relations with Egypt, which is almost totally reliant on the Nile for agriculture and drinking water, and fears the dam will hit its supplies.</s>ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — Ethiopia has officially opened the Gibe 3 hydroelectric dam, which is among the biggest in Africa, despite concerns by environmentalists about its impact downstream and upon neighboring countries.

Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said Saturday while opening the dam that Ethiopia aims to produce 15,000 megawatts of electricity in the coming five years.

Officials say Gibe 3 makes Ethiopia one of the biggest producers and consumers of renewable energy in Africa. They say the dam will help Eithopia meet its own and neighboring countries’ increasing demands for cheap and renewable electricity.

Gibe 3 is part of the Ethiopian government’s efforts to build a series of dams on the Omo River, which runs into Lake Turkana in Kenya. Environmentalists say the dams could lead to livelihood losses and increased local conflicts.</s>Ethiopia on Saturday inaugurated the €1.5 billion ($1.57 billion) Gibe III hydro plant on River Omo.

The plant has 10 turbines each with a capacity of 187MW, and will increase Ethiopia's total electricity output to 4,238 megawatts.

It is located 450km southwest of the capital Addis Ababa and is expected to supply both domestic and export markets.

With a capacity of 1,870MW, Gibe III is the third plant on the Gibe-Omo hydroelectric cascade. The others are Gibe I and Gibe II, which are already operating. The government plans to build Gibe IV and V further downstream.

Construction works of Gibe III began in July 2006 and was financed by China’s ICBC bank through a loan, covering 60 per cent of the cost while the Ethiopian government covered 40 per cent.

Electricity from the plant will be transmitted through a 400 kilovolt line stretching up to the outskirt of Addis Ababa – Kaliti power plant.

The dam was constructed by Italian firm Salini Impregilo and Dong Fang of China.

Last year, Ethiopia commissioned the first phase of electricity generation at the Gibe III plant from three turbines with an output of 561MW.</s>Report by chartered accountants says US likely to cut spending by reining in development aid. FOTOSEARCH

Kenya and Tanzania are among African countries likely to face a drop in foreign aid as the new US administration cuts spending to create room for increased infrastructure expenditure, according to a new report.

The report by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) says the Trump presidency raises the risk of the US rolling back development aid, thus affecting dependent countries such as Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The accountancy and finance body said that signs of an expansionary fiscal stance under the Trump administration, coupled with spending cuts to build dollar reserves for infrastructure development, are likely to lead to a decrease in aid to African countries.

“Aid is probably the main channel through which a change in US policy under a new president could impact Africa,” states the fourth quarter (2016) report commissioned by ICAEW and produced by partner and forecaster Oxford Economics.

“Policymakers and businesses across the continent will be keen to see President-elect Trump’s plans for development policies once he takes office,” the report adds.

According to the report, and drawing on insights from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the US is sub-Saharan Africa’s major donor in bilateral official aid, with over $9 billion distributed to the region to date.

It is followed by the United Kingdom, with just under $4 billion distributed, and France with just over $2 billion.

In terms of official development aid receipts in East Africa, Ethiopia received the largest amount at over $3.5 billion, followed by Kenya and Tanzania with over $2.5 billion each, and Uganda with over $1.5 billion.

According to the report, the change in the US administration will also affect Africa’s trade and investment prospects. It states that steady progress is being made in the continent’s business environment, with Mauritius ranked 49th out of 190 countries globally in terms of the ease of doing business.

The World Bank’s Doing Business 2017 report ranked Rwanda at position 56h, Morocco 68th, Botswana 71st and South Africa 74th. Oil giants Nigeria and Angola were ranked 169 and 182 respectively. According to the report, foreign direct investment inflows into Africa fell by 7 per cent to $54 billion in 2015, with decreasing flows to SSA offsetting larger inflows into North Africa.</s>Kenya, which in 2015 attracted Sh49.4 billion ( $484 million) clean energy investment and climate financing, has been ranked among the top 10 countries in the field globally and third in Africa.

In a report, Climatescope 2016 Index, Kenya scored 2.01 and was placed 10th in overall ranking, down four position from 2015.

Among the 19 African countries surveyed it was ranked number three behind South Africa and Uganda. The report assesses clean energy market conditions and opportunities in 58 emerging nations in South America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

It scores countries based on their levels of activity and the environment they create to attract further clean energy investments.

“In the clean energy investment and the rise of solar, the Sh32 billion ($316 million) financing of the 100MW Kipeto onshore wind farm was one of the record breaking deals for the country following the conclusion of the Sh87 billion ($859 million) Lake Turkana wind power project financing in 2014,” the report said.

Private equity and venture capital flows into off-grid solar accelerated from 2014 to 2015 too.</s>A vintage biplane approaches the landing strip at the airport near the town of Stellenbosch, South Africa, Friday, Dec. 16, 2016.

PLETTENBERG BAY, South Africa — They survived detention in Ethiopia, an emergency landing in Kenya and two searches for a British retiree who flew off radar in remote locations.

On Friday, however, the 8,000-mile adventure came to an end as nearly a dozen biplanes, many of them built in the 1920s, flew the final leg of the Vintage Air Rally along the South African coast and landed in the vineyard town of Stellenbosch.

The event, which rumbled to a start in Crete on Nov. 12 with pilots from South Africa, Botswana and elsewhere, raised money for wildlife and other charity projects with the aim of following in the footsteps of pioneering flights in the 1920s.

The route took the pilots along some of the most evocative points in Africa, including a low flight along the Nile from Cairo to Khartoum in Sudan, past the continent's highest mountain, Kilimanjaro, and over the Serengeti game reserve and Victoria Falls.

The organizers, Belgian flight safari company Prepare2go, said the only obligatory equipment for the journey was a sleeping bag, full black tie dress for meeting dignitaries along the way and a beginners' guide to Swahili.

The planes, which were supported by more modern planes and helicopters, did not always have a smooth flight.

On Nov. 25, pilots were detained in Ethiopia for entering the east African country's airspace illegally because of a breakdown in communications, with authorities not informed in time of their arrival. The pilots were held in the town of Gambella, where there is a high military presence due to tensions with neighboring South Sudan.

The rally was suspended while diplomats scrambled to secure the release of the pilots and crew. Several days later, organizers said the pilots got the all-clear to continue their journey.

The planes, one of had been was flown by the actor Robert Redford's character in the movie "Out of Africa," were cheered by spectators as they flew low over a national park in Kenya's capital, Nairobi.

One plane was not as lucky. Irishman John Ordway and his daughter Isabella escaped uninjured after their 1930s Boeing Stearman made a forced landing on the way to Nairobi after engine failure. Organizers said the crew was not injured, "although the aircraft was irreparably damaged."

Another pilot, 72-year-old Maurice Kirk from Britain, had no satellite tracking or working compass in his 1943 Piper Cub and went missing for two days between Sudan and Ethiopia. He was later found to be among the pilots detained in Ethiopia.

It was the second time during the rally he had gone missing, prompting organizers to ask him to withdraw due to a "mismatch in expectations."
Ethiopia officially opens the Omo River Gibe III hydroelectric dam, one of the biggest in Africa, that is predicted to double the country’s electricity output. Critics are concerned about this dam's impact on locals, on the environment, including Kenya's Lake Turkana, and on neighboring countries.