Bad news for India! China begins construction of 167 billion USD mega-dam on Brahmaputra river in…

China began to build the world’s largest dams on the Brahmaputra River in Nyingchi in southeast of Tibet, just a few kilometers from the Indian border in Arunaçhal Pradesh. This 167 billion USD Mega Dam project was opened on Saturday, July 19 by the Chinese title Li Qiang.

The dam is being built on the Yarlung Tsangpo River known as Brahmaputra in India. It will include five large hydroelectric stations and is expected to produce 60,000 megawatt electricity. This large hydroelectric production is three times higher than China’s three famous Gorges Dams. The cost of this dam project is estimated to be about 167 billion USD and China is the largest infrastructure plan so far.

Bad news for India?

India’s biggest concern is that China builds dams on the Brahmaputra River, a life line for the northeast. It is extremely important for the river Assam and even Bangladesh. Moreover, the construction of the dam is very close to the Indian border of Arunaçhal Pradesh. China would be a ‘upper hand’ to control the river flow because it was a top river country. It can provide a strategic advantage by trying to prevent water flow to India.

According to reports, India brought up concerns about this construction and said, ‘He will follow and take the necessary measures to protect our interests’. They urged China not to harm the interest of the downward states. Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ‘China’s downward states of Brahmaputra’nın interests in the upward flow areas were called to ensure that the activities of not to damage’ he said.

In contrast, China has guaranteed that this construction will not have a negative impact on the down flow and that it will continue to communicate with downward countries. However, there is no ‘legally binding’ water treaty, such as India and China’s Indus Water Treaty (1960), India and Pakistan.

Environmentalists are also interested in this dam project on China’s earthquake -prone ‘seismically active zone’. This large structure may have a negative geopolitical effect that prevents the natural flow of sediment, which is important for agriculture in Assam and Bangladesh.