Egypt rejects extending period for Ethiopia dam studies to 1 year

Egypt rejects a request by proposed international consultancy firms to extend the period for preparing supplementary studies over Ethiopia's Grand Renaissance Dam to one year, Water Resources and Irrigation Minister Hossam Moghazi said.
The proposed extension period contradicts what the three countries (Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia) have agreed upon during a meeting in Khartoum in August, the minister said on the sidelines of a conference on water scarcity organized by the European Delegation in Egypt on Sunday.
Egypt insists on the agreed six-month period for compiling the supplementary studies or a maximum of seven months, Moghazi said.
The firms will be replaced if they do not commit to the agreed upon rules, he said.
Consultations are underway between the three countries to choose the suitable firm from five proposed ones, he said.