Nile River dam row: Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan make draft deal

Nile River dam row: Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan make draft deal

Ethiopia, which began construction of the $4bn (£3bn) dam in 2011 on the Blue Nile, a tributary that contributes 85% of the Nile waters, has always said it wants the damn to be filled within six years.. The dam is already 80% complete, and it looks like Ethiopia will start filling it according to the schedule it has always planned.. The deal may also have a bearing on how the other eight countries on the Nile Basin choose to exploit the River Nile in the future.. It refused to be bound a 1929 treaty that gave Egypt and Sudan rights to almost all the Nile's water without considering upstream countries..