China Launches World's Largest Hydropower Project
(MENAFN) Chinese officials have initiated the construction of what is projected to be the planet’s most extensive hydropower facility, located in Tibetan territory — a development that has raised alarms in both India and Bangladesh.
The project commenced with a formal ceremony attended by Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Saturday, as reported by local media sources.
This ambitious infrastructure venture is being established along the Yarlung Tsangpo River, a significant waterway that passes through the Tibetan plateau and extends into several South Asian countries.
The undertaking has drawn sharp criticism due to its potential effects on the millions of people living downstream in India and Bangladesh. Environmentalists and Tibetan communities have also expressed apprehension regarding the project's ecological and social consequences.
Officials in Beijing have maintained that the initiative will give priority to "ecological protection" and aims to "boost local prosperity."
Despite these assurances, many experts are worried about its broader regional implications.
Once finished, the Motuo Hydropower Station — as the $12 billion yuan ($1.67 billion; £1.25 billion) development is known — is expected to surpass the Three Gorges Dam in terms of scale and output.
It is anticipated to produce nearly triple the energy of its predecessor, positioning it as a monumental feat in global energy infrastructure.
Nevertheless, analysts and government representatives have voiced unease over the strategic leverage the new facility may offer China.
The dam could potentially allow Beijing to regulate or even reroute the trans-boundary Yarlung Tsangpo River, which flows into India’s Arunachal Pradesh and Assam states before entering Bangladesh, where it becomes the Siang, Brahmaputra, and Jamuna rivers.
A study released in 2020 by the Lowy Institute, an Australian research organization, underscored this point by stating that "control over these rivers [in the Tibetan Plateau] effectively gives China a chokehold on India's economy."
This observation reflects growing fears about how infrastructure projects on shared water resources could deepen geopolitical tensions in the region.
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