Harnessing Hydropower, Sparking Tensions: PRC Mega-Dam and India’s Water Security Fears. Publication: China Brief Volume: 25 Issue: 2. By:
Executive Summary:
- The People’s Republic of China (PRC) has officially approved a 60-gigawatt hydropower dam on the Yarlung Zangbo river in Tibet, estimated to cost over 1 trillion renminbi ($137 billion) and surpass the capacity of the Three Gorges Dam.
- The project aligns with national goals to provide clean energy, ensure energy security, and develop Tibet’s regional economy.
- India and Bangladesh, through which the river also flows, fear the impact on their own water security. The absence of a formal water-sharing agreement has exacerbated tensions in a region already heightened by the PRC’s territorial claims to parts of Arunachal Pradesh (South Tibet).
- More than four years after the project was initially announced, details remain limited, obscuring information on its environmental and social impact.
