China begins $167.8 billion Brahmaputra dam construction in Tibet. What does it mean for India?

China has officially begun construction on a USD 167.8 billion dam on the Brahmaputra River in Tibet, near the Indian border in Arunachal Pradesh.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang announced the launch during a groundbreaking ceremony held at the lower reaches of the river, known locally as the Yarlung Zangbo in Nyingchi City, according to official reports.

The ceremony took place at the site of the Mainling hydropower station in the Tibet Autonomous Region, as reported by state-run Xinhua news agency.

Key things to know about the project:

• China has officially begun construction on what is being described as the world’s largest infrastructure project, a massive hydropower dam on the Brahmaputra River in Tibet, close to the Indian border in Arunachal Pradesh. 
• According to official Chinese media, the ambitious project will include five cascade hydropower stations, with a total estimated investment of 1.2 trillion yuan (approximately USD 167.8 billion).

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• Once completed, the stations are expected to generate more than 300 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, reportedly enough to power over 300 million people, making it the largest such effort on the planet, even surpassing China’s Three Gorges Dam.
• The dam is set to be built in a massive gorge in the Himalayas, where the Brahmaputra River, known locally as Yarlung Zangbo, makes a dramatic U-turn before flowing into Arunachal Pradesh and then onward to Bangladesh.

Also Read: India, China contest for hegemony on Brahmaputra; Beijing makes ‘drought’ plan

What does it mean to India?

The project’s location and scale have provoked strong reactions from India and Bangladesh, both of which rely heavily on the uninterrupted flow of the Brahmaputra for agriculture, drinking water, and ecosystem stability. Concerns centre around disruptions to water flow, blocking of nutrient-rich silt, and potential ecological damage, as well as the possibility that China could use control over the river as strategic leverage.

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 the Brahmaputra in Arunachal Pradesh.

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

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

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.

But an official statement in December last year sought to allay concerns about earthquakes, saying that the hydropower project is safe and prioritises ecological protection.

Through extensive geological explorations and technical advancements, a solid foundation has been laid for the science-based, secure, and high-quality development of the project. It said the Brahmaputra flows across the Tibetan Plateau, carving out the deepest canyon on Earth. The dam will be built in one of the rainiest parts.