China starts building a $167 billion mega dam on the Brahmaputra in Tibet.

On Saturday, China officially commenced the building of a USD 167.8 billion dam on the Brahmaputra River in Tibet, near the Indian border in Arunachal Pradesh.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang declared the commencement of dam construction during a groundbreaking event in the lower reaches of the Brahmaputra River, known locally as Yarlung Zangbo, in Nyingchi City, according to official media. The ceremony was held at the dam site of the Mainling hydropower station in Tibet Autonomous Region, as reported by the state-run Xinhua news agency. The hydropower initiative, seen as the largest infrastructure endeavor globally, generated worries in the downstream nations, India and Bangladesh.

According to the report, the initiative will include five cascading hydropower plants, with a total estimated investment of approximately 1.2 trillion Yuan (roughly USD 167.8 billion). A 2023 report indicates that the hydropower facility is projected to produce over 300 billion kWh of electricity annually, sufficient to satisfy the yearly demand of more than 300 million individuals.

It will mainly supply electricity for external use while also meeting local demand in Tibet, which China officially calls Xizang.

The report indicated that individuals from different organizations, such as the National Development and Reform Commission and the Power Construction Corporation of China, as well as local residents, participated in the ceremony. The project received approval in December of the previous year.

The dam will be constructed at a vast gorge in the Himalayan region where the Brahmaputra River takes a significant U-turn to enter Arunachal Pradesh and subsequently Bangladesh. Previous reports indicate that the scale of the project would surpass any other individual infrastructure endeavor globally, including China’s Three Gorges dam, which is considered the largest worldwide.

Concerns emerged in India since the dam, while allowing China to manage water flow, could also permit Beijing to discharge significant volumes of water, inundating border regions during conflicts. India is also constructing a dam on the Brahmaputra in Arunachal Pradesh.

In 2006, India and China set up the Expert Level Mechanism (ELM) to address various matters concerning trans-border rivers, wherein China shares hydrological data on the Brahmaputra and Sutlej rivers with India during flood seasons.

Discussions between India and China’s Special Representatives (SRs) for the border issue, NSA Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, on December 18 last year included data sharing regarding transborder rivers. The Brahmaputra Dam poses significant engineering difficulties since the project area lies along a tectonic plate boundary prone to earthquakes.

The Tibetan plateau, seen as the world’s roof, often undergoes earthquakes since it sits atop tectonic plates. An official announcement in December of the previous year aimed to alleviate worries regarding earthquakes, asserting that the hydropower initiative is secure and emphasizes ecological preservation.

Due to thorough geological investigations and technological progress, a robust groundwork has been established for the scientifically driven, safe, and high-caliber growth of the project, it stated. The Brahmaputra traverses the Tibetan Plateau, creating the deepest canyon on the planet. The dam will be constructed in one of the wettest regions.