Hydropower dam on Brahmaputra river won’t hurt India’s northeast region, says Beijing

BEIJING: China on Monday promised to take "full account" of concerns about its new hydropower dam on the Brahmaputra in the river's downstream areas, which include India's northeastern region. The dam will not come in the way of flood-prevention efforts undertaken in the downstream areas, it said.

On Sunday China had announced the completion of the first phase of construction on the 500MW Zangmu hydroelectricity dam on the Brahmaputra, in its Tibetan region across the Indian border. This is one of the five dams China has planned on the river, which is called Yarlung Zangbo in Tibet.

"We'll take full account of concerns of downstream areas," Hua Chunying, foreign ministry spokeswoman said. "The hydropower stations that China has built will not affect flood prevention and ecological systems of downstream areas." India has repeatedly expressed concerns that intense dam-building activity on the Brahmaputra would make downstream areas, including Arunachal Pradesh, vulnerable to flash floods. Besides, the dams will give China the powers of a 'water tap manager' in the river's upstream areas. India's position is especially vulnerable since there is no water treaty between the two countries.

But Hua said China was in full "cooperation and communication" with the downstream areas. She said during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to New Delhi in September, it was India which "thanked China for the provision of hydrological data and assistance in emergency handling" of the river situation. "On the exploration and utilization of trans-boundary rivers, China has been adopting a responsible attitude, and we ensure exploration goes hand in hand with protection," she said.

Hua said China looked at the Brahmaputra issue in the context of the "bigger picture of China-India relationship". The two countries signed a memorandum of understanding for enhancing cooperation in the field of trans-boundary rivers in 2013, Hua said.

A ferry on the Yarlung Zangbo river, known as the Brahmaputra in India, in Tibet. The Chinese dam on the river will affect its flow into Arunachal Pradesh and other parts of India's northeast. (Getty Images photo) China has built the $1.5 billion Zangmu Hydropower Station at a height of 3,300 metres above sea level on the 'Roof of the World', raising concerns among environmentalists that damming the river will upset rare water species and upset the fragile ecological balance in that part of the Himalayas.