China to build a major hydropower project on Brahmaputra river in Tibet. A proposal for this has been clearly put forward in the 14th Five-Year Plan to be implemented from next year, the official media informed on Sunday.
Chairman of the Power Construction Corp of China, Yan Zhiyong said in a press conference, “China will implement hydropower exploitation the downstream of the Yarlung Zangbo River and the project could serve to maintain water resources and domestic security.”
Yan said, “The project was clearly put forward in the proposals for formulating the country’s 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) and its long-term goals through 2035 made by the Central Committee of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC), it quoted an article on the WeChat account of the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China on Sunday.”
Details of the plan are expected to be released after the formal ratification by the National People’s Congress (NPC) early next year.
Proposals for dams on the Brahmaputra have evoked concerns in India and Bangladesh, the riparian states, and China has downplayed such anxieties saying it would keep their interests in mind.
China has already operationalized the $1.5 billion Zam Hydropower Station, the largest in Tibet in 2015.
Report said that speculation about China planning to build a “super hydropower station” in Medog county, where the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon is located, have circulated for years.
Yan also mentioned that the hydropower exploitation of the Yarlung Zangbo River downstream is more than a hydropower project. It is also meaningful for the environment, national security, living standards, energy, and international cooperation.
According to the report, the mainstream of the Yarlung Zangbo River has the richest water resources in Tibet Autonomous Region, about 80 million kilowatt-hours (kWh), while the 50-kilometer section of the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon has 70 million kWh that could be developed with a 2,000-meter drop, which equals more than three Three Gorges power stations in Hubei province.
Tibet has about 200 million kWh of water resources, accounting for 30 percent of the total in China.
The 60 million kWh hydropower exploitation downstream of the Yarlung Zangbo River could provide 300 billion kWh of clean, renewable, and zero-carbon electricity annually.
The project will play a significant role in realizing China’s goal of reaching a carbon emissions peak before 2030 and carbon neutrality in 2060, the chairman added.