Recently, the Chinese Communist government has approved a large-scale hydropower project on the downstream of the Yarlung Tsangpo River, which will be the world’s largest hydropower station. Previously, India and Bangladesh expressed concerns over the construction of the super dam, fearing that it would impact the local hydrology. There are reports suggesting that the construction of this project might reignite border disputes between China and India.
The Chinese state media Xinhua disclosed on December 25th that the Chinese Communist government has recently approved the Yarlung Tsangpo River downstream hydropower project.
According to a report by Hong Kong’s Ming Pao on December 26th, the specific location of this project has not been revealed by the Chinese authorities, but the area suitable for building the hydropower station along the downstream of the Yarlung Tsangpo River is in Motuo County. It is estimated that the “super hydropower station” will generate electricity three to five times more than the Three Gorges Dam, with a total cost exceeding 1 trillion yuan.
Reuters reported on the 26th that the China Power Construction Group estimated in 2020 that the Yarlung Tsangpo River hydropower project, once completed, will generate an annual electricity output of 300 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh), which is more than three times the annual capacity of the Three Gorges Dam.
The Three Gorges Dam is currently the world’s largest hydropower station by installed capacity, designed to produce 882 billion kWh annually. The total investment in the Three Gorges Dam amounted to 254.2 billion yuan, more than four times the initial estimate of 57 billion yuan. According to Voice of America, the construction cost of the Yarlung Tsangpo River hydropower project is expected to exceed that of the Three Gorges Dam.
Human rights organizations have warned that these dams will drastically alter the natural landscape of Tibet, disrupt ecosystems, and lead to the displacement of local residents.
In February of this year, there were rare protest activities in the mountainous area of Gangtuo, Degê County, Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, opposing the construction of a large hydropower station on the Jinsha River. The dam would submerge six Buddhist monasteries and force the demolition of two villages, displacing thousands of people. Reports indicate that over a thousand local Tibetans and monks were arrested during the protest.
It has been reported that the Chinese Communist government officially approved the construction of the world’s largest hydropower station dam on the downstream of the Yarlung Tsangpo River, which may affect millions of people in India and Bangladesh, sparking concerns in both countries.
The Yarlung Tsangpo River is the longest river in Tibet, flowing through China, India, and Bangladesh, where it is known as the Brahmaputra and Jamuna River, respectively. India and Bangladesh have long been concerned that the Yarlung Tsangpo River hydropower project could alter the downstream river’s flow and exacerbate regional water resource tensions, leading them to voice their opposition to the Chinese Communist government.
In March 2021, the National People’s Congress of China announced the construction of a “super dam” on the Yarlung Tsangpo River in western Tibet, near the border with India.
In 2023, Brahma Chellaney, an Indian geopolitical and strategic expert, wrote in the Nikkei Asian Review accusing the selected site for the super dam located in a seismically active area in the southeast of the Tibetan Plateau, which lies on a fault line where the Indian Plate and Eurasian Plate collide, making it the “world’s most dangerous zone.” With low transparency in dam construction projects, India downstream remains highly apprehensive, fearing the implications of this unpredictable water bomb.
Chellaney further criticized that Beijing has always carried out major dam projects on international rivers in secrecy until they were exposed by commercial satellite images.
He pointed out that even without earthquakes, flash floods during the monsoon season could threaten downstream residents. The construction of super dams by China is akin to “using neighbors as a dumping ground,” pushing difficulties and disasters onto other countries.
In India, the Brahmaputra River, known as the Yarlung Tsangpo River in China, flows through the state of Arunachal Pradesh, a region where India and China have territorial disputes. The Washington Post recently reported that if the construction of this project commences, it could reignite border disputes between China and India, a situation that had recently shown signs of easing.
China and India have been embroiled in border disputes for the past four years, only reaching agreements on patrolling disputed border areas in October this year. The Washington Post quoted analysts saying that this thaw in relations has yet to reach agreements on sharing hydrological data, which are crucial in avoiding tensions arising from new hydropower projects.