No impact of Ethiopian dam on floods this year, says Sudan

Huge Ethiopian dam on the Blue Nile made no impact on this year's floods in Sudan, a Sudanese official was quoted as saying by Reuters. Sudan had taken costly precautions in the absence of any deal to regulate the flow of water.

Sudan and Egypt are downstream of the USD 5 billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam and these countries have spent years in tense negotiations.

Sudan has said the dam could have a positive effect on flooding during the rainy season, and hoped to benefit from electricity production, but has complained of a lack of information from Ethiopia on the dam's operation.

Sudan and Egypt had demanded Ethiopia hold off on a second round of filling the dam before a binding agreement was signed regulating its operation and mandating the sharing of data Sudan feels is necessary to maintain its own dams and water stations.

"Despite the unilateral filling of the Renaissance Dam ... the dam had no effect on this year's floods, but the lack of information exchange before filling forced Sudan to make costly precautions with significant economic and social impact," said Irrigation Minister Yasir Abbas in a tweet.

Ethiopia sees the dam as key to its development and says that it is considering interests of Sudan and Egypt into account.

Abbas said that after the dam reached a particular level on July 20, it let out as much water as it received.

He noted that for the first time Sudan was able to utilize its own dams to lower the intensity of the yearly floods, which have historically devastated riverside farming communities.

The UN said earlier this year almost 70,000 people were affected by the rainy season across Sudan, the bulk of them in River Nile state, which lies downstream after the White and Blue Niles meet in Khartoum.

(With inputs from agencies)