China starts construction on world’s largest hydropower dam in Tibet

HONG KONG (Reuters): China’s Premier Li Qiang announced the start of construction on what will be the world’s largest hydropower dam, located on the eastern rim of the Tibetan plateau and estimated to cost around $170 billion, the official Xinhua news agency said.

The project is part of China’s push to expand renewable energy and reduce carbon emissions.

Consisting of five cascade hydropower stations, the dam will be located in the lower reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River and could affect millions downstream in India and Bangladesh.

Li described the hydropower project as a “project of the century” and said special emphasis “must be placed on ecological conservation to prevent environmental damage,” Xinhua said in its report on Saturday.

Authorities have not indicated how many people the Tibet project would displace and how it would affect the local ecosystem, one of the richest and most diverse on the plateau.

But according to Chinese officials, hydropower projects in Tibet will not have a major impact on the environment or on downstream water supplies. India and Bangladesh have nevertheless raised concerns about the dam.

NGOs including the International Campaign for Tibet say the dam will irreversibly harm the Tibetan plateau and that millions of people downstream will face severe livelihood disruptions.

The dam is estimated to have a capacity of 300 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually and is expected to help meet local energy demand in Tibet and the rest of China.

The project will play a major role in meeting China’s carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals, stimulate related industries such as engineering, and create jobs in Tibet, Xinhua said in December when the project was first announced.

A section of the Yarlung Zangbo falls a dramatic 2,000 meters (6,561 feet) within a short span of 50 km (31 miles), offering huge hydropower potential.

The Yarlung Zangbo becomes the Brahmaputra river as it leaves Tibet and flows south into India’s Arunachal Pradesh and Assam states and finally into Bangladesh.

China has already started hydropower generation on the upper reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo, which flows from the west to the east of Tibet.