China Advances $167-B Tibetan Megadam, Unsettling India

A massive $167-billion (1.2 trillion yuan) megadam in Tibet—expected to boost economic stimulus and clean energy—has been greenlit by Chinese leaders, despite concerns about biodiversity and its potential impact on relations with India, Bloomberg News reported.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang, who visited the construction site, also announced the creation of China Yajiang Group, a new state-owned company that will manage the dam’s development. I Photo: Liu Bin, Xinhua

Chinese Premier Li Qiang launched construction of the hydropower project on the lower reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo River.

He also announced the creation of China Yajiang Group, a new state-owned company that will manage the dam’s development, according to the official Xinhua News Agency, as reported by Paul Abelsky, Wenjin Lv, and Jing Jin.

While many technical details remain unclear, the dam’s cost alone signals its vast scale. The estimated budget is more than four times the $37 billion spent on the Three Gorges Dam, completed in 2009.

The project is expected to deliver a jolt to industries such as construction, cement, and steel, and to significantly boost clean energy supply—potentially helping China reach its net-zero emissions target by 2060.

But the project also carries geopolitical risks. The Yarlung Tsangpo flows through India’s Arunachal Pradesh state and into the Brahmaputra River, which in turn runs through Bangladesh.

India formally raised the issue with China last December. The country’s External Affairs Minister told lawmakers in March that the dam project was a major focus in bilateral talks earlier this year.

In response, many Indians are calling for the acceleration of their own hydropower projects in Arunachal Pradesh.

Ojing Tasing, a state minister, said the government is working with local communities to support the Upper Siang hydropower project, located downstream from the Tibetan dam, according to Bloomberg reporters Alfred Cang, Sudhi Ranjan Sen, and Tian Chen.