Egypt Reacts With Fury as Ethiopia Announces Plans for Three More Blue Nile Dams

Ethiopia's Water and Energy Minister Habtamu Itefa announced plans on August 17, 2026 to build three additional dams on the Blue Nile — the Karadobi, Mandaya, and Beko Abo projects — each with a storage capacity of 30 to 40 billion cubic meters, beyond the already-completed Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). An unnamed Egyptian government source told the state's MENA news agency the plan represented 'a dangerous intention' and 'an attempt to impose a de facto situation,' declaring Egypt 'will not allow this to happen.' Egyptian commentators and experts, including water researcher Abbas Sharaky, said Ethiopia would be mistaken to believe Egypt would stay silent, with some media figures suggesting Egypt would not permit construction 'under any circumstances' — language interpreted as not ruling out military options, though Cairo has taken no military action. Egypt, which depends on the Nile for roughly 98% of its freshwater and is entitled to 55 billion cubic meters annually under a 1959 agreement, has repeatedly called Nile water security an existential national security issue. Ethiopia maintains its dam projects pose no threat to downstream nations.