Ethiopians have celebrated the inauguration of Africa's largest dam as a defining moment in the country's history, even as downstream states warn of "grave consequences" without guarantees on how water flows will be managed.

Construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam has "fuelled nationalist fervour in Egypt, which relies on the Nile for almost all of its water needs", said the Financial Times , but "also in Ethiopia, where use of the river is seen as a sovereign right".

'Energy hegemony'

Fourteen years in the making, the £3.7 billion dam built on the Blue Nile is more than a mile wide and 575 feet high. It is capable of holding back a reservoir covering an area roughly the size of Greater London .

For Ethiopians, Africa's largest hydroelectric plant is seen not just as a

See Full Page