The T-A basin is a transboundary river basin originates from Ethiopian highlands and traverses the eastern plains of Sudan to join the Nile at Atbara Town. Small part of the catchment is located in Eriteria.

Competition over water resources in the Tekezze-Atbara sub-basin (T-A) is increasing to respond to the rising demands for hydropower and irrigation in both Ethiopia and Sudan, and further downstream in Egypt.

Three dams were built in the Tekezze-Atbara sub-basin (T-A): Girba (1966) and Atbara Dams Complex (2015) in Sudan, and Tekezze Five (2010) in Ethiopia, while several others are on the drawing board. However, these storage reservoirs are operated independently, not necessarily because of conflicting interests, but possibly due to lack of information of the added value of coordinated operation of the system

The uncoordinated operation of the reservoirs system the Tekezze Five in Ethiopia and Upper Atbara Dams Complex and khashm ElGirba in Sudan results in sub-optimal benefits, while a collaboration may provide mutual benefits of transboundary water management.

This research will investigate the potential for such mutual benefits, make it transparent to the relevant stakeholders in the two countries (Ethiopia and Sudan).

This project is funded by the program of DUPC2 a cooperation between IHE Delft and Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.