Inaugurated last September, the dam represents Africa’s energy transition, and sets a global benchmark for large hydropower infrastructure

MILAN, May 6, 2026 – Webuild has received the Samoter Innovation Award 2026 for the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). The award, presented as part of the SaMoTer International Construction Machinery Exhibition organised by Veronafiere in Italy, recognises the technological value of a project that is transforming Ethiopia’s energy landscape and setting a benchmark for efficiency in large-scale hydropower infrastructure. 

Established in 1973, the award is one of Europe’s longest-standing recognitions of excellence in construction engineering. With this accolade, the jury places the GERD among transformative projects that go beyond addressing technical challenges, introducing instead a genuine paradigm shift in infrastructure, as well as industrial and energy development. 

The GERD is the largest hydropower project on in Africa, and one of the largest worldwide. It was designed to double Ethiopia’s electricity production capacity, providing a stable and dispatchable renewable energy source equivalent to that of three medium-sised nuclear power plants -  with zero greenhouse gas emissions.

It is a roller-compacted concrete (RCC) gravity dam, 170 metres high and 1.8 kilometres long, with an installed capacity of 5,150 MW and an annual production capacity of 15,700 GWh. These figures only partially capture the complexity of a project that combines structural reliability with the management of a 172-kilometre-long artificial reservoir, in one of the world's most challenging geographical and operational contexts. From an engineering standpoint, the GERD represents an exercise in precision. The construction site set a world record as early as 2014, with the placement of 23,000 cubic metres of RCC in just 24 hours, further demonstrating an industrial organization capable of combining speed of execution with rigorous quality control.

The jury for the SaMoTer Award also recognised the project’s socioeconomic value. A fully developed civil infrastructure has grown around the GERD construction site, including a hospital, medical clinics, a school, sports facilities, permanent road links and production services. More than 25,000 people, largely Ethiopian nationals, were involved in the project’s construction, acquiring specialised skills that remain a lasting asset for the country. In this sense, GERD is not only a hydropower plant, but also an accelerator of industrial capacity and a tool for enhancing human capital, supported by significant investments in training and workplace safety.