Last week China announced it was building the world’s largest dam in Tibet – bigger than the Three Gorges Dam, which has slowed the Earth’s rotation by 0.06 seconds, according to NASA. But unlike that one, which has been built in central China, the new one will be built in the environmentally sensitive Himalayan region in Tibet, very close to the border with India.
Apart from the impact on the environment, the area is also geologically fragile as it falls in a high seismic zone and is therefore prone to earthquakes of relatively high intensity. These are two of New Delhi’s many concerns about the massive project planned on the Brahmaputra River – which China calls the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibet.
Days after Beijing’s announcement about the mega project, New Delhi today responded by saying India will “protect its interests”. It also sent a reminder to Beijing reiterating its rights over the river’s waters, while also demanding transparency on Beijing’s plans.
For now, the Ministry of External Affairs said, New Delhi will continue to closely monitor the latest developments and necessary and appropriate action will be taken if needed.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “We will continue to monitor and take necessary steps to protect our interests.”
The project will have a cascading impact on the flow of the Brahmaputra as well as the river basin. The proposed project would result in severe drought and massive flooding, affecting millions of people, perhaps millions of Indians living downstream.
At a press conference in New Delhi today, the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson said Beijing has been urged to “ensure that activities in the upstream areas do not harm the interests of the downstream states of the Brahmaputra”.
Addressing a question on concerns about the adverse impact of the projects on Arunachal Pradesh and Assam, Mr Jaiswal said, “As a downstream riparian State with established user rights of the river water, we have, with expert level- We have also consistently expressed our views and concerns at the diplomatic level to the Chinese side on the mega projects on the rivers in their area.”
“Following the latest report, these have been reiterated, along with the need for transparency and consultation with downstream countries,” he said.
Hydropower projects also have geopolitical implications. The project is likely to result in intense geopolitical tensions between India and China, as it sows the seeds of a “water war” between the two countries – about which Genevieve Donnellon, a geopolitical and global strategy consultant, -May wrote in 2022.
What we know about this project so far
Once completed, the dam will be the world’s largest hydroelectric project. It is proposed to be built on the eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau, located on the Yarlung Zangbo (Tsangpo) or lower reaches of the Brahmaputra River.
This ambitious project is part of China’s 14th five-year plan and aims to produce 300 billion kilowatts of electricity annually. The cost of the project is estimated at US$137 billion, making it the largest infrastructure project globally.
At 300 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, this new dam will more than triple the 88.2 billion kilowatt-hour design capacity of the Three Gorges Dam, currently the world’s largest, in central China.
During the construction of the Three Gorges Dam, China had to rehabilitate more than 1.4 million people displaced by the project. The new project is three times the size, but Beijing has given no estimate of how many people will be displaced.
The project will also change the regional ecology affecting both Tibet and India. This will also change the course of river flow – which will have a detrimental impact on India and change the agricultural landscape.
