by Hamdi Kamel
Next Saturday, September 5, is the deadline set by the technical committee of the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam during its 8th meeting, held in Addis Ababa to receive the modified technical offer by the French and Dutch consultancy offices to be reviewed by experts of the three countries, Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia during the 9th meeting to take place in Cairo on a date to be agreed upon after discussions of the offer are finished.
The three nations, Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia, decided during the national committee meetings, which wound up in Addis Ababa on Friday, to offer the two offices a final deadline, to end early in September, to submit the joint technical offers of the studies on the impact of the dam on the two downstream nations, Egypt and Sudan, and the others on the size and number of years to fill up the reservoir.
The experts agreed on the items stated in the joint letter addressed to the main consultancy office assigned with carrying out studies on the Renaissance Dam which includes a final decision by the three nations including asking both offices, the main and the assistant, to send the new technical offer swiftly for technical studies of the dam in coordination with the assistant office during a set period that does not exceed September 5 for revision by the experts of the three nations. This should be done without any delay for any reason. The letter stressed that both offices should abide by the decision of the latest meeting of the ministers of the three nations held in Khartoum on organising relations between the two offices. The meeting defined all technical and organisational points in a way that maintains a balance in relations between the two offices during the implementation of the required studies.
Dr Hossam Maghazi, the Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, said that the committee decided to send some explanations and instructions for the main company and its subsidiary company in order to complete their joint work until the submission of revised technical offer by the tripartite committee.
He added that the role of the consulting office, agreed upon by the tripartite committee, is not concerned with studying the body of the Renaissance Dam, but its role is related to what’s behind the dam and its impact on the movement of water and the damage that may cause to the downstream countries. The construction works are going on even during the negotiations periods, he said, pointing out that the initial agreement signed by the tripartite committee does not force Ethiopia to stop the construction of the dam.
He said the Renaissance Dam’s capacity and the years of filling up the reservoir will be one of the missions of the international consultancy office, which will be hired to do that job and will be among the missions of the two consultancy offices that will play an important role in providing advice, opinions and proposals to be implemented by the three countries. Among these tasks will be the designs of the dam, the water it will withhold and the period of storage, he explained, adding that the consultancy office will answer these questions.
The national tripartite committee of the Renaissance Dam of Ethiopia agreed during meetings in Addis Ababa on Friday to give the two offices, the French and the Dutch, a deadline until September 5 to send the new technical proposal for technical studies on the dam after its final modification in coordination with the assistant Dutch office to be reviewed by members of the committee during their next meeting to be held in Cairo in the presence of the ministers at a date to be agreed upon by the Minister after the completion of reviewing the studies and the revised technical proposal, he said.
The committee decided to send some explanations and instructions to the main French company and the Dutch subsidiary company in order to complete the joint technical proposal until the updated proposals of the tripartite committee are presented without delay for any reason outside the agreement, he said, explaining that he had been sent letters to the offices to stress the need for their abidance by the decision of the latest meeting of the Ministers of the three countries, held in Khartoum, in terms of regulating relations between the two offices and defines all the technical points so as to maintain the balance in relations between the two offices during the implementation of the required studies.
President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, during his meeting on Saturday with the ministers of foreign affairs and irrigation, reviewed the outcome of the meeting of the tripartite technical committee on the Renaissance Dam, which was held in Addis Ababa, he said. The president confirmed during the meeting the importance of continuing negotiations on the Renaissance Dam in accordance with the terms of reference approved in the Declaration of Principles signed in Khartoum in March 2015 and understandings which took place between the president and Ethiopian Prime Minister President Helamaream Dessalines during their various meetings the first of which on the sidelines of the African Union summit in Malabo in June 2014.
During these meetings the two sides agreed on the importance of reaching mutual gains and not harm the interests of any party. The President emphasized the importance of working to achieve the interests of the peoples of the three countries, as the River Nile is a source of understanding and cooperation among the sisterly basin states, he added.
For his part, Dr. Alaa Yassin, the spokesman for the Renaissance Dam file, said the meeting included reviewing and discussing the current situation regarding the work of the international consulting firms to complete the studies recommended by the international experts committee to determine the effects of the dam on Egypt and Sudan. The discussions ended with setting up a detailed road map on the work of the two offices together during the 11-month duration of the studies. The roadmap included six main points that guarantee avoiding any differences that may emerge in the future, he said. An agreement was reached on the details of cooperation between the two offices so that the French office performs 70% of the studies, while the Dutch implements 30%. The ministers agreed on the participation of a representative of the Dutch Office in the project’s board and a mechanism has been set up to resolve any problems that may arise in the future between the two companies during their cooperation in the implementation of studies. An agreement was also reached on the method and approach to work of the two offices and the style and timing of the amendments to be made to the modified technical proposal before starting the implementation of studies.
Yassin noted that following the submission of the modified technical offer on September 5, the national experts of the three countries will be given the opportunity to study the joint technical offer and then a meeting will be held in Cairo, whose date has not been set yet as being linked with the results of revising the joint technical offer, to discuss the response of the companies to the proposals made by the Ministers and technicians of the three countries. A agreement has to be reached on any modifications to the technical offer in preparation for signing the contracts with the French and the Dutch companies, he said, pointing out that the delay is due to the different visions and the keenness of each of the three countries on its own interests and at the same time the keenness of the Egyptian negotiator on the Egyptian historical rights to the River Nile water and not to pass any decision against the right of the Egyptians to the Nile water.
According to well-informed sources at the Renaissance Dam negotiations file that the main reason for the delay of the consultancy offices concerned is competition in showing off their technical potentials before experts. This has nothing to do with differences among the ministers or experts of the three countries, the sources said. One of the objectives of technical experts meeting in Addis Ababa is to hold consultations and reach an agreement with representatives of the two offices, the main and the assistant, on the deadline for receiving the revised technical proposal by the consultancy company and to study the reasons for the delay of the French and the Dutch companies in delivering their joint technical proposals, which were scheduled to reach the national committee of the three countries around two weeks ago and to agreed during the meeting on the deadline for receiving the offers.
