Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Saturday announced the launch of a mega dam project on the Tibetan Plateau, The Tibet Dam. This dam project is expected to be the world’s largest hydroelectric facility.
The massive project is located in the lower reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo River. However, this ambitious dam project has raised concerns regarding water supply and environmental impact downstream in India and Bangladesh.
Also read: Chinese Officials Approve World’s Largest Hydropower Project
Project Factsheet
Location: it is located in the lower reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo River. This is near the “Great Bend” in Medog County, Nyingchi (Linzhi) Prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region, China. This location is strategically close to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with India.
Capacity:it is exotic to have a capacity of up to 60 Gigawatts (GW). This is similar to an annual capacity of 300 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh).
Cost: approximately more than $137 billion
Developer/operator: Power Construction Corporation of China (PowerChina). They will be in partnership with the Tibet Autonomous Region government. Also, a new company, China Yajiang Group, has been unveiled to oversee the project.
Funding: The project will be primarily funded by the Chinese government. Also, it will have significant investment from state-owned entities like PowerChina and the newly established China Yajiang Group.
Groundbreaking Ceremony
Li attended the dam’s groundbreaking ceremony that was held in Nyingchi. Nyingchi is a southeastern city in the Tibet autonomous region as reported by state news agency Xinhua reported on Saturday.
The Yarlung Tsangpo becomes the Brahmaputra River once it leaves Tibet and flows south into India’s Arunachal Pradesh and Assam states. Finally, the river flows into Bangladesh.
Official Announcement of the Project
Additionally, Beijing first made an announcement on the plans for the dam in 2020 under its five-year plan. This was part of a broader strategy by China to exploit the hydropower potential of the Tibetan Plateau. Furthermore, the plan was given a greenlight last December.
The Tibet Dam project is said to be the largest of its kind in the world. The dam is estimated to posses an annual capacity of 300 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity . Lastly, this project is deemed to be three times that of the Three Gorges Dam.
Also read: Beyond Limits: “The Three Gorges Dam Above Earth” Project Unveiled by China
