China Initiates Construction of Mega-Dam in Tibet
China has commenced the construction of a significant dam on a river that traverses both Tibet and India, with Premier Li Qiang attending the inauguration ceremony, according to state media reports.
The project received approval from Beijing in December and involves the river known as the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibet and the Brahmaputra in India. It is linked to China’s goals for carbon neutrality as well as its economic development plans for the Tibetan region.
State news agency Xinhua reported following the groundbreaking event in Nyingchi, southeastern Tibet, that “the electricity produced will mainly be directed to other regions while also catering to local energy demands within Tibet.”
Once completed, this dam may surpass the record-holding Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River, raising concerns about its potential effects on millions of individuals living downstream in India and Bangladesh.
The initiative includes the establishment of five hydropower stations, with an estimated total investment of approximately 1.2 trillion yuan (around $167.1 billion), as stated by Xinhua.
In January, India expressed its apprehensions regarding the Tibetan project to China and indicated it would “monitor and take necessary measures to safeguard our interests.”
India’s foreign ministry emphasized that China “has been urged to ensure that activities upstream do not adversely affect the interests of countries reliant on the Brahmaputra downstream.”
Beijing’s foreign ministry asserted in December that there would be no “negative impact” downstream from this project and added that China would continue communication with nations located along the river’s lower reaches.
In addition to downstream implications, environmentalists have cautioned against the irreversible consequences associated with such large-scale developments within the ecologically sensitive Tibetan plateau.
India and China, both neighboring powers with ongoing rivalries, share extensive disputed borders spanning thousands of kilometers where tens of thousands of troops are stationed on opposing sides.
