Various Stakeholders have discussed strategic issues for establishing dam safety center in the Nile Basin, Ethiopian Ministry of Water and Energy announced.
The discussion attracted commissioners and senior officials from the participating countries, leaders from the Canadian Dam Association, the Australian Large Dams Association and the Norwegian Hydropower Association.
Opening the forum, Ethiopian Minister of Water and Energy, Habtamu Ittefa (PhD), said that the efforts made over the past years to establish a dam safety training center had been decided at the meeting of the Council of Ministers of Water and that the efforts had borne fruit.
He said that it is important to discuss the strategy of the training center to carry out effective dam safety activities in the Nile Basin countries.
The Executive Director of the Nile Basin Initiative, Florence Grace (PhD) said that with strong regional Nile cooperation, dam safety management should be established in the downstream countries to cope with climate change around the basin.
The forum is said to serve as a key milestone in shaping the vision, structure and strategic direction of the training center and will provide an opportunity to share best practices to lay a solid foundation.
The participants of the forum visited the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.