The nine countries through which the river passes have for more than a decade been locked in often bitter talks to renegotiate colonial-era treaties that gave Egypt and Sudan the lion’s share of the river’s waters.
However, six of the nine upstream countries — Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania and Burundi — have signed a new deal stripping Egypt of its veto.
“The Great Nile dam construction is scheduled to commence presently near the Ethio-Sudan border,” Water and Energy Minister Alemayehu Tegenu said.
In November, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi told Reuters that Egypt was backing rebel groups in his country because of the Nile dispute and that if it went to war with upstream countries over the river it would lose.
Egypt says it will ignore the new deal signed by upstream states, even though it is now legally binding with six signatures.
Analysts say that the ousting of Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak and the impending secession of South Sudan have strengthened the case of the upstream nations.
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has not signed the deal and, when South Sudan becomes independent in July, there will be ten Nile countries. Analysts expect South Sudan and DRC to support the new agreement.
Tegenu said the Ethiopian government had commissioned an independent survey that proved the new dam would benefit Egypt and Sudan by decreasing siltation in their irrigation projects and by reducing water wastage.
Under the original pact Egypt, which faces possible water shortages by 2017, is entitled to 55.5 billion cubic meters a year from the Nile’s total flow of around 84 billion cubic meters.
