Ethiopia has revealed that it has activated two new turbines on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), enabling the country to double its electricity production thanks to this massive dam built on the Nile River, which has been a source of tension with its neighbors, particularly Egypt.

The authority managing GERD announced on its official account on X that “the concrete construction of the dam is now complete, and the overall progress of GERD has now moved from the construction phase to the operational phase.”

It added, “The two turbines, each generating 400 megawatts, have now started operating, in addition to two turbines generating 375 megawatts each, bringing the total production to 1,550 megawatts.”

The authority also noted that “the spillways of the dam are discharging 2,800 cubic meters per second of additional water toward downstream countries.”

The first two of the total 13 planned turbines on the dam were activated in February and August of 2022. Construction on the GERD began in 2011, with a cost of $4 billion. It is the largest hydroelectric dam in Africa, with a width of 1.8 kilometers and a height of 145 meters.

Ethiopia expects the dam, when fully operational, to produce 5,000 megawatts, which is double the country’s current output, with a total storage capacity of 74 billion cubic meters.