China began building the world’s largest hydropower plant as Beijing looks to extend its lead in renewable energy production.

The $170 billion project on the Yarlung Zangbo river is expected to be able to generate 300 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, equal to the amount of electricity consumed last year in Britain, Reuters reported; the plant is set to be completed in the 2030s.

China has been adding green energy infrastructure at an unprecedented rate, with the country now forecast to account for almost 60% of all renewable energy capacity installed worldwide between now and 2030, the International Energy Agency said last year.

The Yarlung Tsangpo river courses through the Tibetan plateau. Getty Images

China has begun construction of what is set to become the world’s largest hydropower dam, sparking serious concerns in India and Bangladesh over water security and environmental impact.

The Motuo Hydropower Station, located on the Yarlung Tsangpo river in Tibet, will surpass the Three Gorges Dam and could generate three times more energy. Chinese Premier Li Qiang presided over the groundbreaking ceremony on Saturday, News.Az reports, citing BBC.

The river flows into India (Arunachal Pradesh and Assam) and Bangladesh, feeding major rivers such as the Siang, Brahmaputra, and Jamuna.

Officials fear that China could control or divert water, impacting agriculture, livelihoods, and ecosystems downstream.

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu warned that the dam poses an “existential threat” to local tribes, describing the potential for a “water bomb” scenario if China releases massive water flows.

Bangladesh has formally requested Beijing to share information about the dam’s plans.

The project will be built in the world’s deepest canyon, near the Namcha Barwa mountain, an area prone to earthquakes.

Activists warn of flooded valleys rich in biodiversity and accuse Beijing of exploiting Tibetan lands while silencing local opposition.

India plans to construct a Siang river dam to act as a buffer against sudden water releases.

China insists it has a “legitimate right” to build the dam and claims it will prioritize ecological protection and boost local prosperity. The power generated will mainly be transmitted to eastern Chinese cities under President Xi Jinping’s “xidiandongsong” policy (“sending western electricity eastwards”).

News.Az

Construction of the world’s biggest hydropower megadam has begun, China’s premier has said, calling it the “project of the century”.

The huge structure is being built on the Yarlung Tsangpo river, in Tibetan territory.

Li Qiang made the comments on Saturday, at a ceremony in the region to mark the start of the build, leading Chinese markets to rise on the expectation of the long-planned megaproject, first announced in 2020 as part of China’s 14th five-year plan.

The dam has drawn criticism from India and Bangladesh, through which the river runs, as well as Tibetan groups and environmentalists.

The project announced by Li is planned for the lower reaches of the river, according to the official state news outlet, Xinhua. Xinhua reported that the project would consist of five cascade hydropower stations, producing an estimated 300 million megawatt hours of electricity annually at a cost of about 1.2tn yuan (£124bn).

In comparison, the Three Gorges dam cost 254.2bn yuan and generates 88.2m MWh.

No further details were given about timing or scope of construction, but the figures reported by Xinhua exceed estimates from 2020.

China, the world’s biggest carbon emitter, is operating a huge renewable energy expansion as it seeks to reach emissions reduction goals and stabilise its power supply. It has tens of thousands of hydropower projects, far more than any other country.

The Yarlung Tsangpo megadam will reportedly harness the power created by the river dropping 2km in about 50km as it winds through a canyon on a U-shaped bend.

India and Bangladesh have voiced concerns over the project, fearing the water could be held or diverted away from them.

The Yarlung Tsangpo becomes the Brahmaputra river as it flows south into India’s Arunachal Pradesh and Assam states and finally into Bangladesh as the Jamuna river. Damming it could affect millions of people downstream.

“China can always weaponise this water in terms of blocking it or diverting it,” Neeraj Singh Manhas, special adviser for South Asia at the Parley Policy Initiative, told the BBC in January.

The Indian government formally registered its concerns with Beijing over the project in December, and during bilateral meetings between the two countries’ foreign ministers in January.

In response, officials have said China does not seek “water hegemony” and never pursues “benefits for itself at the expense of its neighbours”.

“China will continue to maintain current exchange channels with downstream nations and step up cooperation on disaster prevention and mitigation,” a foreign ministry spokesperson said in December.

Tibetan groups have also noted the presence of sacred sites along the river, and the lack of information about potential population displacement.

Other hydropower projects in Tibet have inspired rare protests, resulting in brutal crackdowns from authorities, according to activists. Last year hundreds of people were arrested while protesting against the Kamtok dam on the upper reaches of the Yangtze river, which they said threatened to displace thousands of residents and submerge ancient Buddhist monasteries. The Three Gorges Dam is estimated to have displaced about 1.5 million people.

Environmentalists have also expressed concern about wildlife in the region, as well as the significant tectonic shifting, severe landslides and extreme geography where the dam is expected to go.

The Chinese government rejects the criticism, and says the project will stimulate jobs in the region, increase domestic energy supplies and spur on development in the renewables sector. “Special emphasis must be placed on ecological conservation to prevent environmental damage,” Li said.

Chinese authorities have officially commenced construction of what is set to become the world’s largest hydropower dam in Tibet, raising fresh concerns in India and Bangladesh over downstream water flow and regional stability.

On Saturday, Chinese Premier Li Qiang presided over the ground-breaking ceremony on the Yarlung Tsangpo river in Tibet’s remote Medog County, according to local media reports. The Motuo Hydropower Station, as it is officially named, is estimated to cost 12 billion yuan (\$1.67bn; £1.25bn) and, once completed, will surpass the capacity of the existing Three Gorges Dam. The dam is expected to generate up to three times more energy.

While Beijing has claimed that the project prioritises environmental protection and local development, the dam’s strategic location — along the Yarlung Tsangpo, which becomes the Brahmaputra and Jamuna rivers as it flows into India and Bangladesh — has alarmed both neighbours.

Critics say the dam could allow Beijing to manipulate water flow, impacting millions downstream. A 2020 report by the Australian-based Lowy Institute warned that “control over these rivers \[in the Tibetan Plateau] effectively gives China a chokehold on India’s economy.”

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu voiced serious concerns, saying the dam posed “an existential threat to our tribes and our livelihoods”. He added: “Suppose the dam is built and they suddenly release water, our entire Siang belt would be destroyed… In particular, the Adi tribe and similar groups would see all their property, land, and especially human life, suffer devastating effects.”

India’s central government has previously lodged objections with China and is reportedly developing a hydropower project on the Siang River as a defensive measure to manage flooding risks from potential water discharges upstream.

Bangladesh, which also relies heavily on the transboundary river system, has formally requested details from Beijing. In February, Dhaka reportedly sent a letter to Chinese authorities seeking information about the dam and its potential impact.

Xinhua, China’s state-run news agency, reported that engineers plan to “straighten” the river’s path by drilling several 20km-long tunnels through the Namcha Barwa mountain, effectively diverting water and creating five cascading power stations. Most of the electricity generated will be transmitted to eastern China under President Xi Jinping’s “xidiandongsong” initiative – a policy aimed at sending power from the underdeveloped west to the industrialised east.

Environmental groups and Tibetan activists have denounced the project as a further encroachment on Tibetan autonomy and biodiversity. The area around the planned dam site is renowned for its ecological richness and vulnerability to earthquakes. Past anti-dam protests by Tibetans have been met with arrests and violent crackdowns.

Despite these warnings, Chinese officials maintain the project will bring economic benefits and reduce carbon emissions. Yet, for India, Bangladesh and environmentalists, the price may be far higher.

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China begins building world’s largest dam, fuelling fears in India

6 hours ago Share Save Tessa Wong BBC News, Singapore Share Save

Getty Images The dam is situated in the Yarlung Tsangpo canyon, said to be the world’s largest and deepest canyon on land

Chinese authorities have begun constructing what will be the world’s largest hydropower dam in Tibetan territory, in a project that has sparked concerns from India and Bangladesh. Chinese Premier Li Qiang presided over a ceremony marking the start of construction on the Yarlung Tsangpo river on Saturday, according to local media. The river flows through the Tibetan plateau. The project has attracted criticism for its potential impact on millions of Indians and Bangladeshis living downriver, as well as the surrounding environment and local Tibetans. Beijing says the scheme, costing an estimated 1.2tn yuan ($167bn; £125bn), will prioritise ecological protection and boost local prosperity.

When completed, the project – also known as the Motuo Hydropower Station – will overtake the Three Gorges dam as the world’s largest, and could generate three times more energy. Experts and officials have flagged concerns that the new dam would empower China to control or divert the trans-border Yarlung Tsangpo, which flows south into India’s Arunachal Pradesh and Assam states as well as Bangladesh, where it feeds into the Siang, Brahmaputra and Jamuna rivers. A 2020 report published by the Lowy Institute, an Australian-based think tank, noted that “control over these rivers [in the Tibetan Plateau] effectively gives China a chokehold on India’s economy”. In an interview with news agency PTI earlier this month, Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu expressed concern that the Siang and Brahmaputra could “dry up considerably” once the dam was completed. He added that the dam was “going to cause an existential threat to our tribes and our livelihoods. It is quite serious because China could even use this as a sort of ‘water bomb'”. “Suppose the dam is built and they suddenly release water, our entire Siang belt would be destroyed,” he said. “In particular, the Adi tribe and similar groups… would see all their property, land, and especially human life, suffer devastating effects.” In January a spokesperson for India’s ministry of external affairs said they had expressed concerns to China about the impact of mega-dams and had urged Beijing to “ensure the interests of downstream states” were not harmed. They had also emphasised the “need for transparency and consultation with downstream countries”. India plans to build a hydropower dam on the Siang river, which would act as a buffer against sudden water releases from China’s dam and prevent flooding in their areas. China’s foreign ministry has previously responded to India, saying in 2020 that China has a “legitimate right” to dam the river and has considered downstream impacts. Bangladesh also expressed concerns to China about the project, with officials in February sending a letter to Beijing requesting more information on the dam.

Getty Images The Yarlung Tsangpo river courses through the Tibetan plateau

Chinese authorities have long eyed the hydropower potential of the dam’s location in the Tibet Autonomous Region. It’s in a massive canyon that is said to be the world’s deepest and longest on land, along a section where the Yarlung Tsangpo – Tibet’s longest river – makes a sharp U-turn around the Namcha Barwa mountain. In the process of making this turn – which has been termed “the Great Bend” – the river drops hundreds of metres in its elevation. Earlier reports indicated that authorities planned to drill multiple 20km-long tunnels through the Namcha Barwa mountain, via which they would divert part of the river. Over the weekend a Xinhua report on Li Qiang’s visit said that engineers would conduct “straightening” work and “divert water through tunnels” to build five cascading power stations. Xinhua also reported that the hydropower dam’s electricity would be mainly transmitted out of the region to be used elsewhere, while accommodating for Tibet’s needs. China has been eyeing the steep valleys and mighty rivers in the rural west – where Tibetan territories are located – to build mega-dams and hydropower stations that can sustain the country’s electricity-hungry eastern metropolises. President Xi Jinping has personally pushed for this in a policy called “xidiandongsong”, or “sending western electricity eastwards”. The Chinese government and state media have presented these dams as a win-win solution that cuts pollution and generates clean energy while uplifting rural Tibetans. But activists say the dams are the latest example of Beijing’s exploitation of Tibetans and their land – and past protests have been crushed. Last year, the Chinese government rounded up hundreds of Tibetans who had been protesting against another hydropower dam. It ended in arrests and beatings, with some people seriously injured, the BBC learned through sources and verified footage. There are also environmental concerns over the flooding of Tibetan valleys renowned for their biodiversity, and the possible dangers of building dams in a region rife with earthquake fault lines.