Addis Ababa — Scholars hail the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) as a transformative project that ensures Ethiopia's sustainable energy future while driving the nation's digital transformation.
The dam, which was officially inaugurated on September 9, 2025, stands as a monumental achievement, cementing its status as Africa's largest hydroelectric power plant.
Academics interviewed by ENA stressed that a reliable, stable power supply is the non-negotiable prerequisite for a digital future.
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They also emphasized that without dependable electricity, the stability, network functionality, and innovation essential for any modern digital system simply cannot be sustained.
Temesgen Wondimu, Vice President for Administrative Affairs and a Structural Engineering Scholar at Addis Ababa Science and Technology University (AASTU), underscored the critical relationship between power and progress.
The sustainable and clean electricity supply provided by projects like the GERD will significantly accelerate digitalization by ensuring modern infrastructure has reliable access to energy, he stated.
According to Temesgen, the completion of major power plants, including the Koisha Dam alongside the GERD, presents an unprecedented opportunity to realize the ambitious Digital Ethiopia initiative.
This optimism is shared by Kemal Ibrahim, Vice President for Academic Affairs and an Electrical Power Engineering Scholar at AASTU.
He noted that the GERD's completion has dramatically increased the country's overall electricity supply, which directly feeds into the expansion of digital technology by guaranteeing power reliability.
Beyond its role in digitalization, Kemal Ibrahim also suggested a significant socio-economic benefit: the expansion of electricity access, and the resulting push towards urbanization, could help reduce internal migration to the country's already overburdened major cities by spurring development in regional areas.
The university itself is taking concrete steps to support the digital push, Kemal confirmed, elaborating AASTU's active collaboration with various institutions to boost digitalization through focused human resource development and research and development.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who met with ministers at the Koisha Dam to review the macroeconomic performance of the first 100 days of the current Ethiopian fiscal year, also announced forward-looking plans to inaugurate other medium and high dams.
