Chinese authorities have begun constructing what will be the world’s largest hydropower dam in Tibetan territory, in a project that has sparked concerns from India and Bangladesh.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang presided over a ceremony marking the start of construction on the Yarlung Tsangpo river on Saturday, according to local media.
The river flows through the Tibetan plateau as well as the two South Asian nations. The project has attracted criticism for its potential impact on millions of Indians and Bangladeshis living downriver, as well as the surrounding environment and local Tibetans.
Beijing has said the development will prioritise ecological protection and boost local prosperity.
When completed, the $12bn yuan ($1.67bn; £1.25bn) project – also known as the Motuo Hydropower Station – will overtake the Three Gorges dam as the world’s largest, and could generate three times more energy.
Experts and officials have flagged concerns that the new dam would empower China to control or divert the trans-border Yarlung Tsangpo, which flows south into India’s Arunachal Pradesh and Assam states as well as Bangladesh, where it feeds into the Siang, Brahmaputra and Jamuna rivers.
A 2020 report published by the Lowy Institute, an Australian-based think tank, noted that “control over these rivers [in the Tibetan Plateau] effectively gives China a chokehold on India’s economy”.
In an interview with news agency PTI earlier this month, Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu expressed concern that the Siang and Brahmaputra could “dry up considerably” once the dam was completed.
He added that the dam was “going to cause an existential threat to our tribes and our livelihoods. It is quite serious because China could even use this as a sort of ‘water bomb'”.
“Suppose the dam is built and they suddenly release water, our entire Siang belt would be destroyed,” he said. “In particular, the Adi tribe and similar groups… would see all their property, land, and especially human life, suffer devastating effects.”
In January a spokesperson for India’s ministry of external affairs said they had expressed concerns to China about the impact of mega-dams and had urged Beijing to “ensure the interests of downstream states” were not harmed. They had also emphasised the “need for transparency and consultation with downstream countries”.
India plans to build a hydropower dam on the Siang river, which would act as a buffer against sudden water releases from China’s dam and prevent flooding in their areas.
China’s foreign ministry has previously responded to India, saying in 2020 that China has a “legitimate right” to dam the river and has considered downstream impacts.
Bangladesh also expressed concerns to China about the project, with officials in February sending a letter to Beijing requesting more information on the dam.
Source:BBC/Ejiofor Ezeifeoma