The Egyptian Water Resources and Irrigation Minister, Hani Sewilam, announced on Sunday that Cairo has approved South Sudan’s Fula hydropower dam project following a comprehensive technical review.
Unlike the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD)—which the Ethiopian government built on the Nile River’s Ethiopian tributary, resulting in an unresolved water dispute with downstream Sudan and Egypt—this project was met with no objection from Cairo.
Sewilam stated that the Fula project was among 36 initiatives submitted under the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) framework, noting that Egypt had thoroughly reviewed all relevant studies before granting its approval. His comments came after South Sudan’s Energy and Dams Minister, Agok Makur, declared that Juba was ready to proceed with its dam development plans—including Fula—and had no reason to fear opposition from downstream countries like Egypt.
“We are not afraid to build our dams because we have a right and we are sovereign, and also South Sudan is part of the Nile Basin,” Makur told journalists in Juba on Thursday.
Makur’s remarks initially drew intense scrutiny in Egypt until Sewilam re-emphasized that Cairo does not oppose the Fula project, noting that it successfully passed through the NBI framework after a thorough review of its detailed designs, impact studies, and documentation.
Egypt’s cooperative stance on the Fula project stands in stark contrast to its position on Ethiopia’s GERD. Cairo strongly opposes the Ethiopian mega-dam in its current form, demanding a legally binding agreement regarding its filling and long-term operations to protect downstream water flows.
The proposed Fula hydropower project is strategically located on the Nile near Nimule in South Sudan’s Eastern Equatoria State. South Sudan has maintained that expanding its domestic hydropower footprint is critical to solving its severe electricity shortages and driving economic growth.
According to Makur, his ministry has already briefed President Salva Kiir Mayardit on the ongoing preparations for the dam’s construction, noting that multiple foreign investors and diplomats have already expressed strong interest in backing the project.
Sewilam concluded by stating that Egypt’s relations with South Sudan and other southern Nile Basin nations remain rooted in mutual cooperation, firmly rejecting media narratives suggesting that the Fula project represents a new diplomatic dispute between Cairo and Juba.
