GUBA, (Ethiopia): Ethiopia began generating electricity from its mega-dam on the Blue Nile on Sunday, a milestone in the controversial multi-billion dollar project.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, accompanied by high-ranking officials, toured the power generation station and pressed a series of buttons on an electronic screen, a move that officials said initiated production. The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is set to be the largest hydroelectric scheme in Africa but has been at the centre of a regional dispute ever since work first began in 2011.

Abiy described Sunday’s development as “the birth of a new era”. “This is a good news for our continent & the downstream countries with whom we aspire to work together,” he said on Twitter.

Ethiopia’s downstream neighbours Egypt and Sudan however view it as a threat because of their dependence on Nile waters, while Addis Ababa deems it essential for its electrification and development. But Abiy, wearing sunglasses and a khaki-coloured hat emblazoned with the Ethiopian flag as he toured the site, dismissed those concerns.

“As you can see this water will generate energy while flowing as it previously flowed to Sudan and Egypt, unlike the rumours that say the Ethiopian people and government are damming the water to starve Egypt and Sudan,” he said as water rushed through the concrete colossus behind him.

“Ethiopia doesn’t have the desire to hurt anybody. Ethiopia’s only desire is to provide electricity to the mothers who have never seen a lightbulb, to alleviate the burdens of those who carry sticks on their backs to generate electricity, and to extricate them from the poverty we’re in currently.”

The $4.2-billion (3.7-billion-euro) project is ultimately expected to produce more than 5,000 megawatts of electricity, more than doubling Ethiopia’s electricity output. Only one turbine of 13 turbines is currently operational, with an installed capacity of 375 megawatts.