Fiscal Nepal
First Business News Portal in English from Nepal
KATHMANDU: China has begun constructing a massive hydropower dam on the Yarlung Tsangpo River in Tibet, which becomes the Brahmaputra River as it flows into India and Bangladesh. The project, located in Medog County near the Great Bend of the river, is poised to become the world’s largest hydroelectric power plant, surpassing the scale of China’s own Three Gorges Dam.
According to official reports and satellite imagery, the construction work has already commenced as part of China’s 14th Five-Year Plan. The project is being developed by the state-owned PowerChina and is expected to generate up to 60 gigawatts of electricity—more than double the capacity of the Three Gorges Dam.
This hydropower facility, often referred to as a “super dam,” is seen by Beijing as a key component of its strategy to increase renewable energy production and reduce carbon emissions. However, the project is also drawing international attention due to its strategic location just a few kilometers from the Indian border.
The dam is being built without any formal agreements with downstream countries such as India and Bangladesh, raising concerns over potential environmental damage and water flow disruption. China is not a signatory to the 1997 United Nations Convention on transboundary water cooperation, and it has not shared comprehensive details of the project with neighboring countries.
Despite the controversy, China has continued to move forward with the construction, claiming it is part of its sovereign right to utilize resources within its territory. The dam is expected to alter the water dynamics of the Brahmaputra basin, a lifeline for millions of people in South Asia.
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