China touts controversial Tibetan dam project in economic plan, India watches closely

China has signaled plans for a hydropower project in Tibet along one of the region’s main rivers, fanning speculation of a mega-dam that would test its engineering and diplomatic nous.

The country will undertake the construction of a dam on the lower reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo River in Tibet, and a power transmission project from Tibet to the Hong Kong area, the National Development and Reform Commission said in its annual report to the National People’s Congress on Wednesday.

The Yarlung Tsangpo has long been mooted as a site for a mega-dam. In 2020, a state media report cited the head of government-owned Power Construction Corp. of China as saying the lower reaches of the river had a huge gorge with potential for 70 gigawatts of electricity generating capacity — more than triple that of the Three Gorges Dam, the largest in the world.


Such a project would represent massive feats of both engineering and diplomacy. Just getting construction and energy transmission equipment to the remote spot would be difficult, before even considering how to work around river rapids that drop 2,000 meters in elevation over a 50-kilometer (31-mile) stretch. The river flows downstream into India and Bangladesh, meaning potential disruptions to water supply that could become international incidents.

Speculation around the project swirled in December, when state-owned Xinhua News Agency reported that the Chinese government approved the construction of “a hydropower project” in the lower reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo. The government hasn’t revealed many details about the project, including its size or timeframe. It has only said it would be safe and wouldn’t haven’t adverse impacts on the environment or downstream neighbors.