No harm from mega hydropower dam, 

Diplomatic Correspondent :

China has assured Bangladesh that its ambitious new hydropower project on the Yarlung Zangbo River in Tibet will not negatively impact downstream countries, including India and Bangladesh.
The river, known as the Brahmaputra after it exits Tibet, flows through India’s Arunachal and Assam states before entering Bangladesh.

“China will not withdraw or use any water from the project, and the project will not affect downstream countries,” said Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Yao Wen during a meeting with Foreign Adviser Md Touhid Hossain at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Both sides also discussed a range of issues of mutual interest.

Meanwhile, Chinese Premier Li Qiang announced on Monday the commencement of construction on what is projected to be the world’s largest hydropower dam, located on the eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau.

According to Xinhua News Agency, the project will cost an estimated US$170 billion and is expected to be operational in the 2030s.

This ambitious development, China’s most significant hydropower endeavor since the Three Gorges Dam, will consist of five cascade hydropower stations. The site is strategically placed in the lower reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo, where the river descends about 2,000 meters over a 50-kilometre stretch, offering enormous hydropower potential.

Before the project began, both India and Bangladesh voiced concerns over its potential impact on millions of people living downstream.

Environmental groups such as the International Campaign for Tibet warned the dam could irreversibly damage the fragile ecosystem of the Tibetan Plateau and disrupt the livelihoods of downstream communities.

Despite such warnings, Beijing insists that the dam-expected to generate 300 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually-will serve Tibet’s and China’s power needs without significantly affecting water flow or harming the environment.