China defended its plan to build the world’s largest dam on the Brahmaputra River in Tibet on Friday, claiming that the project will have no negative impact on riparian states.
Mao Ning, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, downplayed concerns about the enormous project, which is expected to cost about USD 137 billion.
The 137-billion-dollar project is being constructed in the ecologically fragile Himalayan region located along a tectonic plate boundary.
She said that China has always been responsible for the development of cross-border rivers and 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.
She added that the project will not affect lower reaches.
She said China has carried out in-depth studies for decades and taken safeguard measures.
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 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 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 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 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 exchange on trans-border rivers was discussed in meetings between India and China Special Representatives (SRs) for border issues, NSA Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, held here on December 18.
The SRs presented “positive directions for cross-border cooperation and exchanges,” including data sharing on trans-border rivers, according to a Ministry of External Affairs release.
The Brahmaputra Dam provides huge engineering challenges since it is positioned on a tectonic plate border where earthquakes occur.
The Tibetan plateau, known as the world’s roof, is prone to earthquakes due to its location above tectonic plates.
