'World's largest dam': China's project that is worrying India
The Yarlung Zangbo River is known as the Brahmaputra in India and flows through India to Bangladesh
Article DescriptionAuthor, Gavin ButlerPosition, BBC NewsLocationSingaporeDecember, 28, 2024
China has approved the construction of the world's largest dam on the Yarlung Zangbo River, which originates in Tibet, raising concerns about the displacement of populations in Tibet and the environmental impact in India and Bangladesh.
The dam will be located in the lower reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River and will be able to generate three times more energy than the current world's largest Three Gorges Dam.
China's Three Gorges Dam has a capacity of 22,500 megawatts and will have three times the capacity to generate electricity on the Yarlung Zangbo River.
The project could cost up to $127 billion (one trillion yuan), according to estimates by the Chongqi Water Resources Bureau.
Chinese state media has described the project as a “safe and environmentally friendly” project, saying it will boost local prosperity and help achieve Beijing’s environmental goals.
However, human rights groups and experts have raised concerns about the project’s impacts, saying it could displace local populations, alter the natural landscape and damage local ecosystems.
Tibet is a predominantly Buddhist country, which has faced repeated repression in the past.
Earlier this year, the Chinese government arrested hundreds of residents protesting against another dam. Local protests against the dam's construction ended in arrests and beatings, with some seriously injured. The BBC has obtained this information through its own sources and verified footage.
The protesters were opposing plans to build the Gangtao Dam and a hydroelectric power plant.
However, Beijing said it had resettled and compensated local people and moved important statues to safer locations.
In the case of the Yarlung Zangbo Dam, Chinese authorities say the project will not have a major environmental impact but have not said how many people will be displaced.
Fourteen million people were resettled for the Three Gorges Dam.
The mega project will reportedly require at least four 20-kilometer-long tunnels that will be dug out of the Namcha Barwa mountain range and will divert the flow of the Yarlung Zangbo.
Experts and officials have also raised concerns that the dam could give China the power to control or divert the flow of the trans-border river, which flows south through the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam and then into Bangladesh.
A report published in 2020 by the Lowy Institute, an Australian think tank, said that by gaining control of rivers flowing through Tibet, China could strengthen its grip on India’s economy.
Shortly after China announced the Yarlung Zangbo dam project in 2020, a senior Indian government official told Reuters that the Indian government was considering building a large hydroelectric dam to mitigate the negative impacts of Chinese dam projects.
China's Foreign Ministry responded to India's concerns about the proposed dam in 2020, saying that China has the legitimate right to build a dam on the river.
The river flows through the world’s deepest gorge, where one section drops 2,000 meters in just 50 kilometers
China has built several hydroelectric power stations along the course of the Yarlung Zangbo River in the past decade to harness the river’s power through renewable energy.
The river flows through the world’s deepest gorge, where one section drops 2,000 meters in just 50 kilometers, offering enormous potential for hydroelectric power generation.
However, the river’s geography also presents major engineering challenges, and the new dam is China’s largest project to date.
The development site is located in a region that is on the edge of an earthquake-prone tectonic plate. Chinese researchers had previously expressed concern that such extensive excavation and construction in such a narrow gorge could increase landslides.
A senior engineer from the Geological Bureau of Sichuan Province said that earthquake-induced landslides and mudflows often occur out of control and pose a major threat to the project.Related Topics
#India #China #Climate_Change #Asia
China has approved the construction of the world's largest dam on the Yarlung Zangbo River, which originates in Tibet, raising concerns about the displacement of populations in Tibet and the environmental impact in India and Bangladesh.
The dam will be located in the lower reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River and will be able to generate three times more energy than the current world's largest Three Gorges Dam.
China's Three Gorges Dam has a capacity of 22,500 megawatts and will have three times the capacity to generate electricity on the Yarlung Zangbo River.
The project could cost up to $127 billion (one trillion yuan), according to estimates by the Chongqi Water Resources Bureau.
Chinese state media has described the project as a “safe and environmentally friendly” project, saying it will boost local prosperity and help achieve Beijing’s environmental goals.
However, human rights groups and experts have raised concerns about the project’s impacts, saying it could displace local populations, alter the natural landscape and damage local ecosystems.
Tibet is a predominantly Buddhist country, which has faced repeated repression in the past.
Earlier this year, the Chinese government arrested hundreds of residents protesting against another dam. Local protests against the dam's construction ended in arrests and beatings, with some seriously injured. The BBC has obtained this information through its own sources and verified footage.
The protesters were opposing plans to build the Gangtao Dam and a hydroelectric power plant.
However, Beijing said it had resettled and compensated local people and moved important statues to safer locations.
In the case of the Yarlung Zangbo Dam, Chinese authorities say the project will not have a major environmental impact but have not said how many people will be displaced.
Fourteen million people were resettled for the Three Gorges Dam.
The mega project will reportedly require at least four 20-kilometer-long tunnels that will be dug out of the Namcha Barwa mountain range and will divert the flow of the Yarlung Zangbo.
Experts and officials have also raised concerns that the dam could give China the power to control or divert the flow of the trans-border river, which flows south through the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam and then into Bangladesh.
A report published in 2020 by the Lowy Institute, an Australian think tank, said that by gaining control of rivers flowing through Tibet, China could strengthen its grip on India’s economy.
Shortly after China announced the Yarlung Zangbo dam project in 2020, a senior Indian government official told Reuters that the Indian government was considering building a large hydroelectric dam to mitigate the negative impacts of Chinese dam projects.
China's Foreign Ministry responded to India's concerns about the proposed dam in 2020, saying that China has the legitimate right to build a dam on the river.
The river flows through the world’s deepest gorge, where one section drops 2,000 meters in just 50 kilometers
China has built several hydroelectric power stations along the course of the Yarlung Zangbo River in the past decade to harness the river’s power through renewable energy.
The river flows through the world’s deepest gorge, where one section drops 2,000 meters in just 50 kilometers, offering enormous potential for hydroelectric power generation.
However, the river’s geography also presents major engineering challenges, and the new dam is China’s largest project to date.
The development site is located in a region that is on the edge of an earthquake-prone tectonic plate. Chinese researchers had previously expressed concern that such extensive excavation and construction in such a narrow gorge could increase landslides.
A senior engineer from the Geological Bureau of Sichuan Province said that earthquake-induced landslides and mudflows often occur out of control and pose a major threat to the project.
Related Topics
#India #China #Climate_Change #Asia
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