On September 10, 2025, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abi Ahmed Ali held the unveiling ceremony for the largest hydroelectric project in African history, the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), marking the official launch of this massive project that took 14 years to build. The project has been constructed by the Italian company Webuild since 2011, with a total installed capacity of over 5 gigawatts and an annual power generation of 15700 gigawatt hours, equivalent to the capacity of three medium-sized nuclear power plants. It will directly double Ethiopia's national power generation and export electricity to neighboring countries such as Sudan, Djibouti, Tanzania, and Yemen.

As the largest roller compacted concrete gravity dam in Africa, the GERD main dam is 170 meters high and 1800 meters long, with a concrete pouring volume of 10.7 million cubic meters. Its reservoir has a total length of 172 kilometers and a total storage capacity of 74 billion cubic meters, which can meet the needs of large-scale peak shaving power generation and regional water resource allocation. During the project construction process, over 25000 workers participated, the vast majority of whom were local residents of Ethiopia, effectively driving local employment and technology transfer.

The construction of the dam not only promotes the upgrading of Ethiopia's energy structure, but also gives birth to a supporting new city in the surrounding area, integrating hospitals, schools, and sports facilities, forming a modern community that integrates industry and city. From energy security to regional cooperation, from improving people's livelihoods to urban development, the establishment of GERD will become a landmark example for promoting green energy transformation and achieving economic leapfrog development on the African continent, redefining the technical benchmark and ecological value of hydropower projects in Africa.Editor/Cheng Liting