Special to WorldTribune.com

CAIRO — In a surprise move, Sudan has broken away from Egypt in the
latter’s campaign to stop a hydroelectric power plant along the Blue Nile.

The regime of President Omar Bashir said Khartoum supports the so-called
Great Renaissance Dam in Ethiopia. Sudanese officials said the regime
envisioned that the dam would result in a power supplies to the Arab state.

“The Grand Renaissance Dam brings many benefits and blessings for us,” Sudanese Information Minister Ahmed Belal Othman said.

In a briefing on June 9, Othman did not elaborate. But other officials said the information minister was expressing Khartoum’s position on the dam,
strenuously opposed by Cairo.

The Sudanese support came in wake of high-level consultations between Egypt and Sudan to establish a front against the Ethiopian dam. Like Egypt,
Sudan has been a major consumer of water from the Nile.

For its part, Egypt has hinted that it could use force to stop the
Ethiopian dam, which Cairo said would reduce its water supply by 60 percent.
The $4.7 billion dam, said to be more than 20 percent complete, was meant to
generate 6,000 megawatts and turn Ethiopia into a leading supplier of
electricity in Africa. So far, Addis Ababa rejected Egypt’s request to delay
the project.

“We have a plan for action, which will start soon,” Egyptian Foreign
Minister Mohammed Amr said. “We’ll talk to Ethiopia and we’ll see what comes
of it.”

Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi has been urged by both his supporters
and the opposition to consider military action against Ethiopia. The
proposals included everything from air strikes by the U.S.-supplied military
to supporting the revolt against Adis Ababa.

“Their [Ethiopia’s] decision raises many questions,” Egyptian Prime
Minister Hashim Qandil told parliament on June 10.

  Addis Ababa, Great Renaissance Dam, Hashim Qandil, Mohammed Morsi, Omar Bashir, Sudan breaks from Egypt, supports Nile dam in Ethiopia