The Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) said Thursday that more than 1,400 km of high-voltage power transmission lines and distribution stations are ready to complement Ethiopia's under-construction Grand Renaissance Dam (GERD).

The construction of GERD, which the Ethiopian government recently said had reached a 60-percent completion rate, will be regarded Africa’s largest dam with a total volume of over 74,000 million cubic meters and a construction cost of close to 4.7 billion U.S. dollars.

Speaking to Xinhua, Misikir Negash, Ethiopian Electric Power Public Relations Director, said that the transmission lines, with a capacity of 500 kV, are ready all the way from the project site and waiting for the completion of the east African country’s flagship project.

According to Negash, the 500-kV power transmission line and distribution stations, are built with a financial cost of over 28 billion Ethiopian birr (close to 1.2 billion dollars).

Negash further indicated that the capacity to build high-power transmission lines to complement power generation projects is vital for the country which is on its drive towards industrialization.

Negash also stressed that the construction of the high-voltage power transmission lines and distribution stations will enable a swift use of the imminent electric power resource that is expected to be obtained from Ethiopian government’s major power generation project.

Ethiopia’s Grand Renaissance Dam project is under construction in Ethiopia’s Benishangul-Gumuz regional state on the Blue Nile River, located some 40 km east of Ethiopia’s neighboring country Sudan. Enditem

Source-Xinhua