Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Sudan Vision Daily - Details

First Vice-President of the Republic, Ali Osman Mohamed Taha inspected the project of Heightening Al-Rossires Dam. The Resident Engineer of the Project, Khider Mohamed has briefed Taha on the progress of work in the project, adding that work will be complete next year.

He said the project will extend economic assistance to the citizens through the provision of 600 Megawatt of electricity besides its contribution in the development of the agricultural process in the Blue Nile State.

It worth to mention that the Blue Nile and the lands on both banks constitute vast sites for development, especially in the fertile lands lying on both sides where there is a variety and an abundance of natural resources: soil, water, forests, wild life, and minerals.

The area ranks high among the various parts of Sudan in the field of wealth and economic and social development as a result of the agricultural projects that still represents the first alternative of future investments in the area.

There are four dams in Sudan, and the fifth one is about to be complete. Two of these are on the Blue Nile: Sinnar Dam, and Roseires Dam.

In 1952 the Government of Sudan considered the possibility of constructing a dam near the city of Roseires. In 1955 consulting companies Coyne Bellier and Sir Alexander Gibb and Partners were chosen to study and design the project.

The study recommended the construction of a dam with a storage capacity of 3 Billions cubic meters at a water level of 480 m (Phase I) (Irrigation Datum), the storage capacity is to be raised to 7.4 billions m3 with an increase in height of 10 m up to level 490 m (Irrigation Datum) at the second stage of construction (Phase II).
In 1959, the Nile Water Agreement signed between Egypt and Sudan dedicated 18.5 billion m3) as the Sudan's share of water.

The Agreement allowed for the construction of Roseires Dam and the first stage of construction was started in 1961 and completed in 1966.

Furthermore, Rosaries Dam lies on the Blue Nile at Alddamazeen rapids between longitudes 33-35 east, and latitudes 11-12 north, 550 km South East from the capital of Sudan - Khartoum – The Dam Site is 800 km far from the Tana Lake in Ethiopia.

The area is linked by an asphalt road and a domestic airport. It used to be linked in the past by railway. Land is characterized by flat terrain with few hillocks and soaring mounts along the borders with Ethiopia.

Blue Nile State lies in the savanna zone with annual rainfalls of 900-1250 mm. The reservoir is about 290 square km.

The concrete section is a buttress dam of one km long and a maximum height of 68 m. The total volume of concrete is 850,000 m3.

The earth dam constitute 5 million cubic meter of fill having maximum height above foundation of 30 m. The total length is 12.5km as follows:
4km on eastern bank
8.5km on western bank


Floods are routed through Gated spillway with 7 radial gates, each 12m high by 10 m wide five sluices with radial gate, each 10.5 m high by 6 m wide. .


By Haram Hashim Ali, 16 hours 16 minutes ago

Monday, September 19, 2011

Ethiopia PM denies calling for Sudan president Bashir’s ouster | African news, analysis and opinion – The Africa Report.com

FRIDAY, 16 SEPTEMBER 2011 18:12

Ethiopia has dismissed claims in leaked US diplomatic cable quoting Prime Minister Meles Zenawi urging America to topple Sudanese President Al Bashir.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi/Photo/Reuters

Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi/Photo/Reuters


According to one of the cables leaked by the whistle blower website WikiLeaks recently, Meles met US diplomats and told them of the need “to remove the Bashir regime.”

But on Thursday the Ethiopian government‘s communications affairs bureau said the PM had never called for the removal of the neighbouring country’s government from power.

“In fact, to the contrary the full WikiLeaks’ release shows that Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has advised the Americans on the inappropriateness of "removing the Beshir regime’’, and of his suggestion that the US layout "clear bench marks of actions expected of the GoS (government of Sudan) on both Darfur and South Sudan which would go a long way in addressing the "continued challenges," the bureau said in a statement.

It added: “In its foreign policy statements, the government of Ethiopia has time and again declared its firm position that the responsibility of changing a sovereign government solely rests on the people of the respective countries, not on any other outside forces.”

The bureau said Ethiopia had “fundamental differences with the United States that sees regime change as an integral part of its foreign relations practices.”

However, government admitted Meles held discussions with the diplomats in July 2009 where he “stressed that the US cannot substitute itself for the people of Sudan.”

“A recent living illustration of Ethiopia’s commitment to this democratic stance is the Prime Minister’s repeated disagreement with those foreign powers who tried to prosecute President Al Beshir through the International Criminal Court,” the statement added.

Meles reportedly told the diplomats at the July 9 meeting that the Western paradigm of democracy cannot be “exported” to other countries.

“In the said Wikileaks (cables) the Prime Minster has pointed out that "the 'old paradigm' of the US is wrong and closes of the emergence of organic democracy in Africa," the statement said.

“Ethiopia, therefore, clarifies its position that it never and nowhere supports any external pressure for regime change.”

Sudan is yet to react to the disclosures.