The announcement that China approved the construction, on the largest river in Tibet, of what could be the largest hydroelectric project in history, alarmed neighbors India and Bangladesh, not only due to environmental fears, but also because the Asian giant may aim to control the water flow of the Yarlung Tsangpo River (Brahmaputra, for Indians) and, as a result, destabilizing water supply throughout the region.
According to the plan announced by the official news agency Xinhuathe dam will be able to generate three times more energy than the Three Gorges, the largest hydroelectric plant in the world, in a project budgeted at 1 trillion yuan (US$137 billion).
The report released by the news agency did not specify the start date of construction, nor its exact location.
According to the newspaper South China Morning Postthe Yarlung Tsangpo River flows through the Tibetan Plateau, carving the deepest canyon on Earth and descends an impressive 7,667 meters before reaching India, where it is known as the Brahmaputra River. The dam would be built in one of the areas with the highest rainfall in mainland China.
The dam could produce 300 billion kWh of electricity annually, according to an estimate provided by Power Construction Corp of China in 2020. That’s more than triple the Three Gorges Dam’s current 88.2 billion kWh capacity. the largest in the world, located in central China.
Authorities did not indicate how many people the new project would displace or how it would affect the local ecosystem, one of the richest and most diverse on the plateau. For comparison, the construction of the Three Gorges required the resettlement of 1.4 million people.
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Another challenge raised is that the project site is located along a tectonic plate boundary which is a prone zone for earthquakes. At least four 20km-long tunnels were to be drilled into the Namcha Barwa mountain to divert half of the river’s flow to harness its energy, according to newspaper reports citing experts.
Neighbors’ fears
However, India and Bangladesh have raised concerns about the dam, with the project potentially altering the course of the river downstream.
The newspaper The Times of Indiaciting the news agency PTIhighlighted that India has raised concerns about the dam because it not only enables China to control the river’s water flow, but also poses the risk of flooding border areas, releasing large volumes of water – during possible hostilities – due to its size and scale.
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Additionally, India is also building its own dam on the Brahmaputra in Arunachal Pradesh. In early 2006, India and China established an agreement to address several cross-border river issues, whereby China provides India with hydrological data on the Brahmaputra and Sutlej rivers during flood seasons.
In early 2020, Yan Zhiyong, former chairman of Power Construction Corporation of China, described the location of the Yarlung Tsangpo as exceptionally rich in hydropower potential.
“The area of the lower reaches presents a vertical drop of 2,000 meters over a distance of 50 km, representing almost 70 million kilowatts of resources that could be developed – that is more than three Three Gorges Dams, with an installed capacity of 22.5 million kilowatts”, cited the Post.
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A 2023 assessment indicates that the hydroelectric facility will produce more than 300 billion kWh of electricity annually, enough for the annual consumption of 300 million people. To harness the river’s hydropower potential, the project requires the drilling of four to six tunnels, each approximately 20 km long, through Namcha Barwa mountain to divert half of the river’s flow, estimated at around 2,000 cubic meters per second, the report said, according to news agency PTI.
Yan emphasized that hydropower development in the lower reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River is more than just a power project. It has significant implications for environmental protection, national security, living standards, energy needs and the promotion of international cooperation.
“It is a project for national security, including water resources and internal security,” he said, noting that the project will also facilitate cooperation with South Asia. He indicated that the hydropower station could generate 20 billion yuan ($3 billion) in annual revenue for the Tibet Autonomous Region.
