Countries debate Nile River plans

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, Feb. 24 (UPI) -- Ethiopia says it is time for a new agreement among countries bordering the Nile River to move forward on energy plans.

Ethiopia is urging Nile Basin countries -- Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo -- to implement the Nile Riparian Countries Cooperation Framework Agreement in an effort to boost energy along the world's longest river.

The CFA agreement would establish a Nile Riparian Commission aimed at being responsible for planning, implementation and support for all projects along the Nile, Bikya Masr reported Friday.

Fekahmed Negash, head of the Nile Basin Administration Directorate, said the CFA, signed by six of the Nile-bordering countries, would soon be implemented.

Ethiopia is constructing the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in line with the CFA, he said, despite worries from Egypt and Sudan over its erection.

Egypt, the recipient of the lion's share of Nile water, says it would not enter into any agreement that does not maintain current Egyptian water levels.

Other upstream Nile Basin nations, including Ethiopia, have demanded Egypt and Sudan give up their dominance of water rights and abolish a 50-year-old treaty established under British colonial rule that allows Egypt more than 80 percent of all Nile water.