China Launches Mega-Dam on Yarlung Tsangpo, Stoking India Fears
On July 21, 2025, China officially began construction on what will become the world’s largest hydropower dam, located on the Yarlung Tsangpo River in Tibet—known as the Brahmaputra downstream in India. Premier Li Qiang hailed it as a “project of the century.” The five-station cascade dam is expected to generate 300 billion kWh per year, far surpassing the Three Gorges Dam, at an estimated cost of 1.2 trillion yuan ($170 billion). Why This Matters Downstream anxiety: India and Bangladesh, which rely heavily on the Brahmaputra, have voiced concerns that damming could reduce seasonal flows, disrupt agriculture, and threaten communities. India formally registered objections and protests earlier this year. Geopolitical and environmental risk: The mega-dam sits in a tectonically active canyon ecosystem, with potential displacement of local communities, destruction of Tibetan cultural sites, and irreversible ecological damage. Responses from India Assam Chief Minister Himanta […]