Salini: An Ethio-Italian Story

The history of Ethiopian dam building is deeply interwoven with the story of Salini Costruttori. Salini has been building dams in Ethiopia since the 1960s, navigating different political regimes to become a key partner of the Ethiopian Government in the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. This chapter examines Salini projects across three different political regimes: the Legadadi Dam built under the Imperial regime (1964–1970); the Tana-Beles multipurpose project started in 1986 under the Derg; and the Gilgel Gibe cascade of three dams and four power stations in the Gibe-Omo Basin. The chapter argues that Salini is not simply another multinational corporation but is also an Ethiopian company that works in Ethiopia to stay in the country. Moreover, the partnership with Salini has provided the government with the technical capacity required to undertake a series of increasingly complex engineering projects, while demonstrating the commitment to persist with politically controversial projects amidst financial uncertainty.