Giant Ethiopian dam to make 200,000 go hungry: NGO

More than 200,000 Ethiopians who rely on fishing and farming could become reliant on aid to survive if the government goes ahead with building Africa's biggest hydropower dam, an advocacy group said. Ethiopia is building the 1.4 billion euro dam as part of a campaign to beat power shortages and become a power exporter. The dam - Gibe III -- is expected to generate 1,800MW, almost doubling Ethiopia's current capacity of just under 2,000MW. Tribal rights group Survival International says the dam will cause displacement and upset fishing and farming. Among tribes that will be affected are the Kwegu and the Hamar. "These tribes are self-sufficient but this dam will ruin their economies," a Survival International representative, who did not wish to be named, said. "It will end the annual flooding some rely on to make the land they farm fertile, and for tribes who rely on fishing, it will deplete stocks. They will need aid."