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Ethiopian ministers have said the country will fill up the Grand Renaissance Dam over a period of "between four to seven years" despite Egypt's push for a longer span, the state-linked Fana Broadcasting Corporate (FBC) reports.
Foreign Minister Gedu Andargachew and Water Minister Seleshi Bekele also told journalists at the Ethiopian embassy in Washington that the initial deal announced on Wednesday "will not restrict its [Ethiopia's] rights to build other dams in the country".
The preliminary agreement, brokered by US treasury secretary and the World Bank president, indicated that Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan had agreed the mega dam on the River Nile should be filled in stages during the rainy season.
No time period was specified in the agreement.
Ethiopia had wanted the dam to be filled within six years but Egypt has maintained that a longer period - of between 10 and 21 years - would be better so that the water flow is not drastically reduced.
The Ethiopian ministers are quoted by FBC as saying that the filling process will start by the end of this year.
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