China has begun construction of the world’s largest hydroelectric power plant in Tibet
The Premier of the State Council of China, Li Qiang, announced the start of the construction of the largest hydroelectric power plant in the world, which will be located on the eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau. About this informsReuters agency.
The infrastructure project, worth about 170 billion US dollars, involves the creation of a cascade of five hydroelectric power plants on the lower reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo River.
This ambitious plan is part of China’s national strategy to develop renewable energy and reduce carbon emissions. The new power complex is expected to produce up to 300 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity each year, meeting the needs of both Tibet and other regions of the country.
Li Qiang described the project as the “project of the century”, stressing the importance of environmental protection and ecological balance. At the same time, there is currently no official information on the number of people who may be resettled, or on the impact on the local ecosystem, which is one of the most valuable on the plateau.
India and Bangladesh have already expressed concern about the potential impact on water supplies in downstream regions. Environmental organizations, in particular the International Campaign for Tibet, warn of the threat of a serious and irreversible impact on nature and the standard of living of millions of people.
In the area where construction is planned, the Yarlung Tsangpo has a significant height difference of about 2,000 meters over a distance of 50 kilometers, which creates a strong hydropower potential. After leaving Tibet, the river gets the name Brahmaputra and flows through the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, and Bangladesh. Previously, China had already started generating electricity on the upper reaches of this river, which flows from west to east through Tibet.
