Ethiopia has officially inaugurated the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), a hydroelectric project on the Blue Nile that is set to more than double the country’s electricity supply.

The dam, located in the Benishangul-Gumuz region about 700km northwest of the capital Addis Ababa and near the Sudanese border, is the largest in Africa. It measures 1,800m in length and 170m in height, creating a reservoir known as Nigat Lake that holds about 74 billion cubic meters of water. The dam was built by Webuild.

Construction began in 2011 and was largely financed domestically through bonds and public contributions after Ethiopia failed to secure international funding. The facility has a total installed capacity of 5,150MW, generated through 13 turbines across two power stations, with an expected annual output of about 15,700 gigawatt hours. According to Webuild, this is “an installed production capacity … equivalent to three medium-sized nuclear power plants.”

The official inauguration ceremony was attended by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali, Pietro Salini, Chief Executive of Webuild, and leaders of other African nations. Webuild described the GERD as “one of the world’s most ambitious and advanced infrastructure projects in recent years.”

The main dam, constructed with roller-compacted concrete, is the largest of its kind in Africa, with a volume of 10.7 million cubic meters of concrete. In December 2014, the site set a world record by laying 23,000 cubic meters of concrete in 24 hours.

Webuild emphasized the project’s local impact, noting that “a new town has emerged around the site, complete with a hospital, two equipped medical clinics, a school, sports facilities, a bakery producing injera … and road infrastructure that will remain as a legacy.” More than 25,000 people, mostly Ethiopians, worked on the dam’s construction.

Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam has also been a source of tension with downstream countries Egypt and Sudan, which rely heavily on Nile waters. Ethiopia has argued the project is essential for its development and electricity needs, while Egypt in particular has raised concerns about water security. Despite more than a decade of negotiations, no binding agreement has been reached on how the dam should be managed.

Partial operations began in 2022, with the staged filling of the reservoir completed in 2024. Officials say the dam will expand power access for Ethiopia’s population of more than 120 million people, roughly half of whom currently lack reliable electricity, and help the country become an energy exporter in East Africa.

Webuild said the GERD reflects “a long-term vision and serves as a tool for national growth,” while also fitting into Italy’s broader efforts to support African infrastructure through the Mattei Plan. The company has been active in Ethiopia for over 70 years, completing 30 projects, including the Beles Multipurpose Project, the Gibe III dam, and currently the Koysha dam.

Globally, Webuild has built 318 dams and hydroelectric plants with a total capacity of 53,659 MW, and is working on additional projects that it says will help avoid 13 million tons of CO₂ emissions annually. “With GERD, Webuild reaffirms its global leadership and its ability to deliver large-scale, complex, and sustainable infrastructure,” the company said.