China has officially commenced construction of a colossal hydropower dam on the Brahmaputra River in Tibet, near the Indian border in Arunachal Pradesh. The massive project, with an estimated cost of USD 167.8 billion (approximately 1.2 trillion Yuan), was inaugurated by Chinese Premier Li Qiang at a groundbreaking ceremony in Nyingchi City, located in the Tibet Autonomous Region. The dam will be built at the lower reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River — as the Brahmaputra is known in Tibet — particularly at Mainling in Nyingchi, where the river bends sharply before entering Arunachal Pradesh. The location is not just geographically sensitive, but also seismically active, adding layers of concern over the scale and safety of the project.
The hydropower project is being hailed by Chinese state media as the world’s biggest infrastructure venture, reportedly comprising five cascade hydropower stations. Once completed, the complex is expected to generate over 300 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, enough to power more than 300 million people — a figure greater than the entire population of the United States. The power generated will be largely exported to meet China’s growing energy demands elsewhere, while a portion will serve local needs in Tibet, referred to by China as Xizang.
However, the construction has triggered serious unease in lower riparian countries — primarily India and Bangladesh — both of which depend heavily on the Brahmaputra’s waters for agriculture, drinking water, and fisheries. The dam’s location gives China strategic control over the river’s flow, potentially allowing it to withhold or release vast quantities of water at will, a concern India has voiced repeatedly in diplomatic forums. Apart from geopolitical tensions, environmentalists are also expressing concerns over the scale of the project. The dam will be constructed in a region known to be one of the most earthquake-prone zones in the world. The Tibetan Plateau sits on an active tectonic plate boundary and frequently experiences seismic activity. A dam failure in such a region could have catastrophic consequences, not just for Tibet, but also for downstream regions in India and Bangladesh.
