Ruto praises Ethiopia for building multi-billion dam without loans
By Cynthia Lodite, September 9, 2025President William Ruto has lauded Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed for building the Grand Renaissance Dam, Africa’s largest dam, without any foreign aid.
William Ruto made his remarks on Tuesday, September 9, 2025, during the inauguration of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in Ethiopia.
On his part, Ruto, while congratulating the Ethiopian minister, revealed that the dam cost Ethiopians at least 5 billion dollars.
“The fact that you have raised 5 billion dollars without debt, without borrowing, and without support from others makes us believe that indeed Africa can take charge of its own destiny,” Ruto said.
Ruto further noted that the money raised by Ethiopians gives African countries confidence to take charge and command their own development.
“Money raised by Ethiopians to build this monumental project gives us confidence of the ability of us as people to take charge and command our own developmement into the region,” Ruto said.
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Ruto further added, “I want to commend the people, government and more particularly my brother Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed for this monumental achievement.”
On the other hand, Ruto while giving the Ethiopian Prime Minister his flowers, noted his positive influence to the people of Ethiopia and Africa at large.
“Listening to you, Prime Minister Abiy, you not only inspire your people in Ethiopia, you inspire our people in the region,” Ruto added.
Ruto further added, “Knowing very well that the sweat and blood and energy, effort, resources, that have been put in the development of this dam was as a result of locally mobilised resources.”
The Grand Renaissance Dam
According to a report by AFP, the Grand Renaissance Dam (GERD) is a national project of historic scale and a rare unifying symbol in a country torn apart by ongoing internal conflicts.
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Towering 145 metres (476 feet) high and stretching nearly two kilometres (1.2 miles) across the Blue Nile near the Sudanese border, the $4-billion megastructure is designed to hold 74 billion cubic metres of water and generate 5,000 megawatts of electricity — more than double Ethiopia’s current capacity.
Likewise, the report reveals that the Grand Renaissance Dam’s capacity that makes it the largest dam by power capacity in Africa, though still outside the top 10 globally.