Global CommonsSouth Asia

PRC OKs massive hydropower dam across Himalayan gorge

FORUM Staff

The People’s Republic of China (PRC) has approved plans for what would be the world’s largest hydropower dam on the lower Yarlung Tsangpo River despite concern that it would harm downstream communities and fragile landscapes in India and Bangladesh.

Experts also say tectonic plates below the Himalayan mountains, where the multistage Medog Hydropower Station is planned, make the area susceptible to earthquakes and landslides, which the project might exacerbate. “Consistent and severe seismic activity combined with the concentration of dam construction on the Tibetan plateau could have catastrophic effects,” according to China Water Risk, a Hong Kong-based think tank.

Chinese state media reported the dam’s approval in December 2024, although details of the enormous structure proposed in 2020, including a construction timetable, were not made public.

The estimated $127 billion dam across one of Earth’s deepest and longest gorges in PRC-controlled Tibet could generate about 300 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually — more than three times the energy produced by Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River in central China, currently the world’s largest hydropower dam, Reuters reported. The PRC contends the two major dams and dozens of others will reduce carbon emissions from energy sources such as coal and attain its goal of carbon neutrality by 2060.

The Medog project along the world’s highest river poses immense challenges, with the Yarlung Tsangpo plunging 17,000 feet in places, The Washington Post newspaper reported. The state-owned Power Construction Corp. of China plans to build the 50-meter-high structure.

The river begins in western Tibet’s glaciers and flows through the Himalayas, becoming the Brahmaputra as it winds through India’s Arunachal Pradesh and Assam states. It then moves southwest into Bangladesh, where it is called the Jamuna. The waters are central to the well-being of communities — especially farmers and fishermen — and natural ecosystems. The potential of the PRC’s massive upstream dam dramatically hindering river flow is spurring concern, especially in India.

New Delhi and Tibetan human rights groups note that along with the lack of a timetable, the PRC has not said exactly where the dam will be built or how engineers will dam the steep-sided Yarlung Tsangpo. They also note the PRC’s dam-building history of dislocating communities, harming environments, and inducing droughts and floods.

“By constructing a dam on a transboundary river, China would acquire the ability to manipulate water flows and potentially weaponize the resource in its relations with India,” according to Rahul Mishra, an associate professor at the Centre for Indo-Pacific Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi and a senior research fellow at Thammasat University in Thailand.

“During periods of heightened tensions, China could restrict the water flow to India, exacerbating drought conditions, or release excess water to cause floods in downstream regions,” Mishra wrote for the Taipei Times newspaper in early January 2025.

India’s Foreign Ministry expressed concerns about the proposed dam to Beijing, Reuters reported. “The Chinese side has been urged to ensure that the interests of downstream states of the Brahmaputra are not harmed by activities in upstream areas,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told reporters in early January 2025. “We will continue to monitor and take necessary measures to protect our interests.”

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button