Nile office to be set up in Addis Ababa

A regional bureau responsible for coordinating Nile river development among Sudan, Ethiopia and Egypt would be opened in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, AFP said. The three countries making up the East Nile Sub-Basin have established their own Action Plan (ENSAP), which will initially involve measures to prevent flooding and for establishing joint hydroelectric projects between Ethiopia and Sudan on the Baro, Akobo and Birbir rivers in western Ethiopia and eastern Sudan.

The decision was given a boost by a donors' conference in Geneva last week when the donors and the World Bank pledged US $140 million towards a Nile Basin Initiative, a statement on the World Bank web site said on Tuesday. The aim is to develop water resources in ways that could benefit some 300 million people living in 10 countries: Ethiopia, Eritrea, Egypt, Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and the DRC.

The World Bank statement pointed to a recent article in the 'Financial Times' (UK), which said the increasing population pressures, coupled with limited water access, had rendered conflict between Nile states a possibility. It said the threat would be reduced with the Nile Basin Initiative launching seven feasibility studies backed by a US $140 million grant. World Bank President James Wolfensohn pledged the Bank's support, and described the work as "a remarkable and fragile first step".