Thank you, Ethiopia
I want to thank everyone who carried the Renaissance Dam from an idea to reality.
• Emperor Haile Selassie - for starting and backing the early Blue Nile studies and big-dam planning.
• PM Meles Zenawi - for selecting the site, launching GERD in 2011, and creating a strategy to finance it ourselves when lenders said no.
• PM Hailemariam Desalegn - for keeping the build moving, overseeing river diversion in 2013, and signing the 2015 Declaration of Principles with our neighbors.
• PM Abiy Ahmed - for restructuring stalled contracts, clearing bottlenecks, strengthening the grid and interconnectors, and overseeing the first power in 2022, with more turbines synchronized afterward, and for completing the project successfully.
• Eng. Simegnew Bekele - the face of the project who led tirelessly with courage.
• Eng. Kifle Horo and the current management - for driving the final stretch to delivery.
• The negotiation team - all members, experts, ministers, and diplomats who worked day and night for Ethiopia.
• The builders - 25,000 to 30,000 workers, EEP teams, contractors, security, and everyone on site.
• The people – bond buyers, diaspora, activists, experts, farmers, and citizens who contributed and advocated for GERD and Ethiopia’s national rights.
We did this together. Our grandparents dreamed it. We built it. Our children will carry it forward. 🇪🇹💧⚡️
@AbiyAhmedAli @PMHailemariamD #Ethiopia #GERD #RenaissanceDam #Abay #Hydropower #AfricaRising #EnergySecurity #Unity #ProudEthiopia