Construction of the world's largest dam and hydroelectric power plant on the Yarlung Zangpo River in the Tibet Autonomous Region has begun in China, state media reported. The $170 billion investment is expected to be the largest of its kind since the Three Gorges Dam and will ultimately produce 300 billion kWh of energy annually.
Chinese state media reported that Premier Li Qiang attended Saturday's cornerstone-laying ceremony.
The investment, estimated at 1.2 trillion yuan according to Xinhua, involves the construction of five cascade power plants and is expected to be put into operation in the 2030s.
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Beijing says the dam, called the “project of the century” by the prime minister, will meet energy needs mainly in other regions of China, but also in Tibet, without significantly impacting water resources and ecosystems.
The approximately 1,700 km long Yarlung Zangpo River rises from the Jiema Yangzong Glacier near Mount Kailas in southwestern Tibet, widens to become the Siang River in India, and then flows into the Brahmaputra.
India expressed its concerns to Beijing in January, declaring it would monitor the situation and take necessary steps to protect its interests.
Non-governmental organizations such as the International Campaign for Tibet also warn of threats to the natural environment of the Tibetan Plateau.
The news of the start of construction triggered significant gains on Chinese stock markets, especially in the engineering and construction sector, Reuters notes.
The project is being implemented in the context of rivalry between Asian powers India and China, which are divided by thousands of kilometers of disputed borders, and China's pursuit of energy self-sufficiency and carbon neutrality.
From Beijing Krzysztof Pawliszak (PAP)
krp/ ap/
