As the dispute over the giant hydroelectric dam that Ethiopia is building on the Nile River continues to linger, Addis Ababa recently unveiled plans to export electric power to South Sudan as part of an electrical interconnection project between the two countries.

According to the Ethiopian News Agency, Addis Ababa is to start exporting 100 megawatts (MW) of electric power to South Sudan in the first phase of the project and gradually increase it to 400 MW over the next three years.

The announcement of the deal came on the sidelines of the signing May 5 of a memorandum of understanding between officials of the two countries regarding an electrical interconnection project, during an official visit by a delegation from South Sudan to Ethiopia.

Ethiopian Electric Power Corporate Planning Executive Officer Andualem Sia said after his meeting with the South Sudanese delegation that his country is working to provide electric power to its neighbors with the aim of earning foreign currency, as well as meeting the energy requirements of its neighbor South Sudan.