Ethiopia powers on with controversial dam project

The waters of the Blue Nile have for millennia flowed down from the Ethiopian highlands enriching the countries on its banks.

The rocks that make up its riverbed have been eroded by Ethiopia's past and now that the construction of Africa's largest hydro-electric dam has begun, these same rocks are helping to build the country's future.

The Grand Renaissance Dam project was announced last year by the Ethiopian government, in a unilateral move that is not sitting very well with its downstream neighbors. Egypt and Sudan say Ethiopia is threatening their greatest natural resource.

What's undisputed though is the sheer size of this undertaking close to Ethiopia's border with Sudan.

"It's not very easy to build a project of this magnitude in a remote area," explains Francesco Verdi, who oversees this project for Salini, the Italian construction firm that has been contracted by the Ethiopians to build the dam.