China Defends Plan for World's Largest Dam on Brahmaputra, Assures No Impact on Lower Reaches

Beijing: On Friday, China defended its plan to build the world’s largest dam on the Brahmaputra River in Tibet, stating that the project would not impact riparian states.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning downplayed concerns about the massive project, which is estimated to cost around USD 137 billion, noting that safety issues have been addressed through decades of studies.

She also emphasized that the dam is being built in the ecologically sensitive Himalayan region, which lies along a tectonic plate boundary where earthquakes are common.

China Defends Brahmaputra Dam Project

Mao assured that China has conducted extensive research and implemented safeguard measures, adding that China has always been responsible for the development of cross-border rivers.

She said the hydropower development in Tibet has been studied in an in-depth way for decades and safeguard measures have been taken for the security of the project and ecological and environmental protection.

The project will not affect lower reaches, she said.

China's Commitment to Communication and Cooperation

China will continue to maintain communication with countries in the lower reaches through existing channels and step up international cooperation on disaster prevention and relief for the benefit of the people by the river, she said.

China on Wednesday approved the construction of the world's largest dam, stated to be the planet's biggest infra project on the Brahmaputra River in Tibet close to the Indian border, raising concerns in riparian states - India and Bangladesh .

The hydropower project is to be built in the lower reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River, the Tibetan name for the Brahmaputra, an official statement here said.

The Brahmaputra Dam: A Massive Infrastructure Project

The dam is to be built at a huge gorge in the Himalayan reaches where the Brahmaputra River makes a huge U-turn to flow into Arunachal Pradesh and then to Bangladesh.

Mao said China’s hydropower development in the lower reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River aims to speed up the development of clean energy and respond to climate change and extreme hydrological disasters.

The total investment in the dam could exceed one trillion yuan (USD 137 billion), which would dwarf any other single infrastructure project on the planet including China's own Three Gorges Dam, regarded as the largest in the world, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported on Thursday.

China has already Operationalised the USD 1.5 billion Zam Hydropower Station, the largest in Tibet in 2015.

The Brahmaputra dam was part of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) and National Economic and Social Development and the Long-Range Objectives Through the Year 2035 adopted by Plenum, a key policy body of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) in 2020.

Concerns and Diplomatic Dialogue on Trans-Border Rivers

Concerns arose in India as the dam besides empowering China to control the water flow, the size and scale of it could also enable Beijing to release large amounts of water flooding border areas in times of hostilities.

India too is building a dam over Brahmaputra in Arunachal Pradesh.

India and China established the Expert Level Mechanism (ELM) in 2006 to discuss various issues related to trans-border rivers under which China provides India with hydrological information on the Brahmaputra River and Sutlej River during the flood seasons.

Data sharing of trans-border rivers figured in the talks between India, China Special Representatives (SRs) for border questions, NSA Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, held here on December 18.

The SRs provided positive directions for cross-border cooperation and exchanges" including data sharing on trans-border rivers, a statement by the Ministry of External Affairs said.

The Brahmaputra Dam presents enormous engineering challenges as the project site is located along a tectonic plate boundary where earthquakes occur.

The Tibetan plateau, regarded as the roof of the world, frequently experiences earthquakes as it is located over the tectonic plates.

(with agency inputs)