Egypt Warns Ethiopia Over Three New Blue Nile Dams

Tensions have escalated between Egypt and Ethiopia following the announcement by the Ethiopia Water and Energy Ministry of plans to construct three new hydropower projects on the Blue Nile: Karadobi, Mandaya, and Beko Abo. These projects, which have a combined potential capacity of 5,700 megawatts, follow the September 2025 inauguration of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

Badr Abdelatty, the Egyptian Foreign Minister, declared that Cairo will not allow the construction of additional dams and reserved the right to legitimate self-defense to protect its water security. He stated that Egypt will not accept any agreement regarding the Nile unless it is legally binding. This position was echoed by Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Hani Sewilam, who asserted that Egypt will not allow Ethiopia to establish a new status quo or a fait accompli on the river.

Ethiopia maintains that utilizing the Nile is a sovereign right and an economic necessity to combat energy and food poverty. The dispute is further complicated by a legal divide: Ethiopia and five other upstream nations ratified the Nile River Basin Cooperative Framework Agreement in October 2024, while Egypt and Sudan did not.

Beyond water rights, the conflict has evolved into a regional geopolitical struggle. Egypt has strengthened security ties with Somalia and Eritrea, a move Ethiopia views as a strategy of diplomatic and military encirclement. While Egypt previously attempted to stop the construction of the GERD, it has shifted its strategy toward using international pressure to influence the design and operation of future projects.