( CNN ) It 's called the Grand Renaissance Dam -- and the clue is in the name . With some 8,500 laborers working around the clock on its construction , the imposingly-named dam is surely one of Africa 's most ambitious infrastructure projects , reaffirming Ethiopia 's ambitions of becoming a big regional player and a major exporter of power . When completed , the project will generate around 6,000 megawatts of electricity for both domestic use and exports . The most striking aspect of the nearly $ 5 billion enterprise is , however , that it is entirely funded by Ethiopia , without any foreign investment . According to the authorities , 20 % of the project is financed from bond offerings to Ethiopians , and the remaining 80 % from tax collection . `` It was seen as a strategically important initiative that the government and the Ethiopian people are financing it 100 % , '' says Zemedeneh Negatu , managing partner at Ernst & Young Ethiopia . `` They have come up with a very creative and innovative way that I think will be a lesson for other African countries who want to embark on such large infrastructure projects , and want to have the flexibility to do it themselves , '' he adds . Hydroelectric powerhouse . So far , Ethiopians at home and abroad have contributed about $ 350 million , and the government says that the 170 meter tall dam is on track for a 2017 opening , with 40 % of the work already complete . Ethiopia 's per capita income might be one of the lowest in the world , but the country has enjoyed an impressive economic growth since 2000 , averaging 10.9 % annually , which has resulted in a 33 % reduction of people living in poverty . If the Grand Renaissance Dam and other hydroelectric projects , such as the Gibe III dam on the Omo river , are completed on time , The World Bank estimates Ethiopia could earn $ 1 billion a year from electricity exports . Negatu says that this would make the country the largest exporter of power in Africa , and second only to South Africa when it comes to installed capacity . Unhappy neighbors . Yet , not everyone is happy about Ethiopia 's energetic drive to harness its water resources . The Grand Renaissance Dam is being built on Blue Nile , a tributary of the Nile River which has been powering the agriculture of Sudan and Egypt -- through which it flows -- for millennia . These countries have opposed the project in the past , fearing that the dam will reduce their share of the Nile water . The ousted Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi had even threatened to defend `` each drop of Nile water with our blood if necessary '' back in 2013 . Passions have been calmer more recently , and today the Reuters news agency reported that representatives of Egypt , Sudan and Ethiopia reached a preliminary agreement in Khartoum on how to operate the dam . Negatu is convinced that a compromise will be reached , as he thinks that the dam will ultimately benefit not just Ethiopia but most other East African nations . `` This is actually a regional project because up from Egypt all the way down to Rwanda , countries are going to buy the power that 's generated by this dam , '' Negatu says , adding that both Rwanda and Kenya have already agreed to purchase thousands of megawatts once the project is finished . A lack of reliable power has long stunted Africa 's development , with 600 million people on the continent not connected to the grid and getting by on a mix of generators , kerosene lamps and candles . In Ethiopia , only 15 to 20 % of the population has access to power according to a study by Chatham House . `` It 's Africa 's Achilles ' heel , '' says Negatu . `` With anyone who wants to build a factory in Africa , the first thing they ask is infrastructure , and within infrastructure , whether there is sufficient electricity . Industrialization has always been about electricity , and this [ dam ] addresses this basic need . '' He adds that , after depending on exporting raw commodities for decades , governments across Africa should be pursuing a strategy of industrialization , following the example of China . `` We 've got to move up the value chain , and it 's what Ethiopia is doing right now . Its strategy is industrial-based -- not to export commodities but to manufacture value-added things , and other African nations are trying to emulate that . But without electricity there wo n't be industrialization in Africa . '' More from Africa View . Read this : New railway links to transform West Africa . Read this : Fast-rising aviation hub spreads its wings . Brandon Clements contributed to this report .
Ethiopia is building the largest hydro-electric dam in Africa . The country says the $ 5bn The Grand Renaissance Dam is funded entirely by the government and its people . Neighboring Sudan and Egypt fear that the dam will affect their water supply .