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Daily Mail
19 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
China begins work on world's biggest dam
China has launched construction of a gargantuan dam that will produce enough electricity each year to power Britain - but neighbors India and Bangladesh warn it could be used to wage hydrowarfare. Chinese Premier Li Qiang officially launched the construction project for the Motuo Hydropower Station at a ceremony at a remote Tibetan village yesterday, describing it as the 'project of the century'. Five cascading hydropower stations will be installed along a bend in the Yarlung Zangpo river as it winds its way around the Namchabarwa mountain, with tunnels bored through the rock to force the water into turbines. Beijing says the dam, which is set to cost some 1.2 trillion yuan or £124 billion, will produce 300 billion kilowatt hours of electricity - more than triple the power output of the Three Gorges Dam in Yangtze central China, currently the world's largest. But the Yarlung Zangpo river flows into the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh and Amman and on into Bangladesh, to form the Siang, Brahmaputra and Jamuna rivers. These waterways are the lifeblood of civilization in one of the most fertile and populous regions in the world. Indian and Bangladeshi officials are raising the alarm, arguing that the new dam would effectively hand China the power to control and restrict the flow of water across the border - or cause devastating floods. Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu told the PTI news agency earlier this month that the Siang and Brahmaputra could 'dry up considerably' once the dam was completed and described the project as 'an existential threat to our livelihoods'. 'The issue is that China cannot be trusted. No one knows what they might do,' he said, warning Beijing could use the dam to create a 'water bomb' in a time of war. 'Suppose the dam is built and they suddenly release water, our entire Siang belt would be destroyed... (communities) would see all their property, land, and especially human life, suffer devastating effects.' Shares in China Energy Engineering, the lead contractor for the project, leapt 51% following the opening ceremony yesterday, with Power China and Huaxin Cement also enjoying notable boosts. This photo taken on July 19, 2020 shows water being released from the Three Gorges Dam, a gigantic hydropower project on the Yangtze river. China's foreign ministry says the dam will be instrumental in achieving Beijing's net zero by 2060 goal. It previously dismissed complaints from Indian authorities as early as 2017 over rising pollution in the Siang river as a result of earlier construction projects, and has asserted that Beijing has a 'legitimate right' to dam the Yarlung Zangpo. The ministry added that China never 'pursues benefits for itself at the expense of its neighbours. China will continue to maintain current exchange channels with downstream nations and step up cooperation on disaster prevention and mitigation.' But Indian officials are not convinced. New Delhi lodged a formal complaint with China in 2024, while Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Khandu announced that politicians are already working to put defensive measures in place. He told PTI that the state government has conceived a project called the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project - a dam that will act as a buffer to avert flooding in the event that China releases huge quantities of water upstream. 'I believe China is either about to start or has already started work on their side. But they do not share any information. 'Who will make China understand? Since we cannot make China see reason, it is better that we focus on our own defense mechanisms and preparations. That is what we are fully engaged in at the moment,' he said. Neither China nor India is a signatory to the Water Convention, a UN treaty which provides a legal and regulatory framework for the protection and management of transboundary surface waters and groundwaters. This means Beijing is not bound to monitor water levels and is not responsible for ensuring that downstream rivers are provided with enough water to maintain its economic activity, agriculture and aquatic life. India accounts for roughly 17 percent of the global population but has access to just 4 percent of its fresh water resources, according to data published by the Stockholm International Water Institute and the World Bank. Australia's Lowy Institute in 2020 reported that Beijing's 'control over these rivers [in the Tibetan Plateau] effectively gives China a chokehold on India's economy', while the Parley Policy Initiative's special adviser for South Asia, Neeraj Singh Manhas, told a BBC podcast in January that China 'can always weaponize this water in terms of blocking it or diverting it'. A reliable water supply is also vital for India's plans to rapidly expand its coal power plants in the coming years as the world's most populous nation looks to develop its industry. 'Water wars are a key component of warfare... (these dams) allow China to leverage its upstream Tibet-centerd power over the most essential natural resource,' political scientist Brahma Chellaney wrote in the Times of India. Chellaney, a professor of strategic studies at the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi, also pointed out that the Tibetan Plateau, through which the Yarlung Zangpo river flows, experiences high levels of seismic activity. Damming the river could increase the risk of natural disasters, creating a 'ticking water bomb', he said. New Delhi's protest at China's construction project comes just months after India also threatened to demonstrate the strategic power of water as a weapon of war. In the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack in April that sparked a brief armed conflict between India and Pakistan, New Delhi suspended its participation in the Indus Waters Treaty, which obliges India to allow water to flow into Pakistan from the Indus River - a lifeline for Pakistan's agriculture and economy. Dr Manali Kumar, an expert in Indian foreign policy at the University of St. Gallen, told MailOnline the move carried 'immense risks' and was perceived by Pakistan as an 'existential threat'. 'This also sets a dangerous precedent for the weaponisation of shared resources, raising alarms among India's other neighbours who will be watching how this develops very carefully,' Dr Kumar warned. China's new dam and India's suspension of the Indus Water Treaty are just the latest examples of the myriad ways in which controlling the flow of the world's most vital resource can be used as an instrument of leverage in foreign policy, or a tool of war. The Pacific Institute reported global water-related violence surged by more than 50 percent in 2023 alone, as states and non-state actors alike realize the leverage water offers. Despite this, international institutions still largely view water as a development or environmental issue rather than a national security flashpoint, and there is no robust legal framework that clearly classifies the manipulation of water flows to coerce nations or harm civilians as a war crime. Advocates argue that the deliberate weaponisation of water must carry real consequences - from international sanctions to legal prosecutions and reparations - to prevent it from becoming a mechanism of modern conflicts. In the meantime, previous Chinese megadam construction projects have proven devastating for local populations and aquatic biodiversity. The Three Gorges Dam, finished in 2012 on the Yangtze River, created a huge man-made reservoir and displaced 1.4 million inhabitants upstream. Tempa Gyaltsen Zamlha, an environmental policy specialist at the Tibet Policy Institute, a think tank linked to the Tibetan government-in-exile based in Dharamshala, India, said the same consequences would be felt around Yarlung Zangpo. 'We have a very rich Tibetan cultural heritage in those areas, and any dam construction would cause ecological destruction, submergence of parts of that region. 'Many local residents would be forced to leave their ancestral homes,' he said, adding that the project will encourage migration of Han Chinese workers that 'gradually becomes a permanent settlement'. 'Building a dam the size of the super-dam is likely a really bad idea for many reasons,' said Brian Eyler, energy, water and sustainability program director at the Stimson Center, a US think tank. The dam would block the migration of fish as well as sediment flow that enriches the soil during seasonal floods downstream, said Eyler.
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
China begins work on world's biggest dam as nuclear-armed neighbour India warns of 'ticking water bomb' amid fears giant structure will be used as 'hydrowarfare weapon'
China has launched construction of a gargantuan dam that will produce enough electricity each year to power Britain - but neighbours India and Bangladesh warn it could be used to wage hydrowarfare. Chinese Premier Li Qiang officially launched the construction project for the Motuo Hydropower Station at a ceremony at a remote Tibetan village yesterday, describing it as the 'project of the century'. Five cascading hydropower stations will be installed along a bend in the Yarlung Zangpo river as it winds its way around the Namchabarwa mountain, with tunnels bored through the rock to force the water into turbines. Beijing says the dam, which is set to cost some 1.2 trillion yuan or £124 billion, will produce 300 billion kilowatt hours of electricity - more than triple the power output of the Three Gorges Dam in Yangtze central China, currently the world's largest. But the Yarlung Zangpo river flows into the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh and Amman and on into Bangladesh, to form the Siang, Brahmaputra and Jamuna rivers. These waterways are the lifeblood of civilisation in one of the most fertile and populous regions in the world. Indian and Bangladeshi officials are raising the alarm, arguing that the new dam would effectively hand China the power to control and restrict the flow of water across the border - or cause devastating floods. Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu told the PTI news agency earlier this month that the Siang and Brahmaputra could 'dry up considerably' once the dam was completed and described the project as 'an existential threat to our livelihoods'. 'The issue is that China cannot be trusted. No one knows what they might do,' he said, warning Beijing could use the dam to create a 'water bomb' in a time of war. 'Suppose the dam is built and they suddenly release water, our entire Siang belt would be destroyed... (communities) would see all their property, land, and especially human life, suffer devastating effects.' China's foreign ministry, having previously dismissed complaints from Indian authorities as early as 2017 over rising pollution in the Siang river as a result of earlier construction projects, has asserted it has a 'legitimate right' to dam the Yarlung Zangpo. The ministry added that China never 'pursues benefits for itself at the expense of its neighbours. China will continue to maintain current exchange channels with downstream nations and step up cooperation on disaster prevention and mitigation.' But Indian officials are not convinced. New Delhi lodged a formal complaint with China in 2024, while Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Khandu announced that politicians are already working to put defensive measures in place. He told PTI that the state government has conceived a project called the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project - a dam that will act as a buffer to avert flooding in the event that China releases huge quantities of water upstream. 'I believe China is either about to start or has already started work on their side. But they do not share any information. 'Who will make China understand? Since we cannot make China see reason, it is better that we focus on our own defence mechanisms and preparations. That is what we are fully engaged in at the moment,' he said. Neither China nor India is a signatory to the Water Convention, a UN treaty which provides a legal and regulatory framework for the protection and management of transboundary surface waters and groundwaters. This means Beijing is not bound to monitor water levels and is not responsible for ensuring that downstream rivers are provided with enough water to maintain its economic activity, agriculture and aquatic life. India accounts for roughly 17 per cent of the global population but has access to just 4 per cent of its fresh water resources, according to data published by the Stockholm International Water Institute and the World Bank. Australia's Lowy Institute in 2020 reported that Beijing's 'control over these rivers [in the Tibetan Plateau] effectively gives China a chokehold on India's economy', while the Parley Policy Initiative's special adviser for South Asia, Neeraj Singh Manhas, told a BBC podcast in January that China 'can always weaponise this water in terms of blocking it or diverting it'. A reliable water supply is also vital for India's plans to rapidly expand its coal power plants in the coming years as the world's most populous nation looks to develop its industry. 'Water wars are a key component of warfare... (these dams) allow China to leverage its upstream Tibet-centred power over the most essential natural resource,' political scientist Brahma Chellaney wrote in the Times of India. Chellaney, a professor of strategic studies at the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi, also pointed out that the Tibetan Plateau, through which the Yarlung Zangpo river flows, experiences high levels of seismic activity. Damming the river could increase the risk of natural disasters, creating a 'ticking water bomb', he said. New Delhi's protest at China's construction project comes just months after India also threatened to demonstrate the strategic power of water as a weapon of war. In the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack in April that sparked a brief armed conflict between India and Pakistan, New Delhi suspended its participation in the Indus Waters Treaty, which obliges India to allow water to flow into Pakistan from the Indus River - a lifeline for Pakistan's agriculture and economy. Dr Manali Kumar, an expert in Indian foreign policy at the University of St. Gallen, told MailOnline the move carried 'immense risks' and was perceived by Pakistan as an 'existential threat'. 'This also sets a dangerous precedent for the weaponisation of shared resources, raising alarms among India's other neighbours who will be watching how this develops very carefully,' Dr Kumar warned. China's new dam and India's suspension of the Indus Water Treaty are just the latest examples of the myriad ways in which controlling the flow of the world's most vital resource can be used as an instrument of leverage in foreign policy, or a tool of war. The Pacific Institute reported global water-related violence surged by more than 50 per cent in 2023 alone, as states and non-state actors alike realise the leverage water offers. Despite this, international institutions still largely view water as a development or environmental issue rather than a national security flashpoint, and there is no robust legal framework that clearly classifies the manipulation of water flows to coerce nations or harm civilians as a war crime. Advocates argue that the deliberate weaponisation of water must carry real consequences - from international sanctions to legal prosecutions and reparations - to prevent it from becoming a mechanism of modern conflicts. In the meantime, previous Chinese megadam construction projects have proven devastating for local populations and aquatic biodiversity. The Three Gorges Dam, finished in 2012 on the Yangtze River, created a huge man-made reservoir and displaced 1.4 million inhabitants upstream. Tempa Gyaltsen Zamlha, an environmental policy specialist at the Tibet Policy Institute, a think tank linked to the Tibetan government-in-exile based in Dharamshala, India, said the same consequences would be felt around Yarlung Zangpo. 'We have a very rich Tibetan cultural heritage in those areas, and any dam construction would cause ecological destruction, submergence of parts of that region. 'Many local residents would be forced to leave their ancestral homes,' he said, adding that the project will encourage migration of Han Chinese workers that 'gradually becomes a permanent settlement'. 'Building a dam the size of the super-dam is likely a really bad idea for many reasons,' said Brian Eyler, energy, water and sustainability program director at the Stimson Center, a US think tank. The dam would block the migration of fish as well as sediment flow that enriches the soil during seasonal floods downstream, said Eyler.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
China begins building world's largest dam, fuelling fears in India
Chinese authorities have begun constructing what will be the world's largest hydropower dam in Tibetan territory, in a project that has sparked concerns from India and Bangladesh. Chinese Premier Li Qiang presided over a ceremony marking the start of construction on the Yarlung Tsangpo river on Saturday, according to local media. The river flows through the Tibetan plateau. The project has attracted criticism for its potential impact on millions of Indians and Bangladeshis living downriver, as well as the surrounding environment and local Tibetans. Beijing says the scheme, costing an estimated 1.2tn yuan ($167bn; £125bn), will prioritise ecological protection and boost local prosperity. When completed, the project - also known as the Motuo Hydropower Station - will overtake the Three Gorges dam as the world's largest, and could generate three times more energy. Experts and officials have flagged concerns that the new dam would empower China to control or divert the trans-border Yarlung Tsangpo, which flows south into India's Arunachal Pradesh and Assam states as well as Bangladesh, where it feeds into the Siang, Brahmaputra and Jamuna rivers. A 2020 report published by the Lowy Institute, an Australian-based think tank, noted that "control over these rivers [in the Tibetan Plateau] effectively gives China a chokehold on India's economy". In an interview with news agency PTI earlier this month, Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu expressed concern that the Siang and Brahmaputra could "dry up considerably" once the dam was completed. He added that the dam was "going to cause an existential threat to our tribes and our livelihoods. It is quite serious because China could even use this as a sort of 'water bomb'". "Suppose the dam is built and they suddenly release water, our entire Siang belt would be destroyed," he said. "In particular, the Adi tribe and similar groups... would see all their property, land, and especially human life, suffer devastating effects." In January a spokesperson for India's ministry of external affairs said they had expressed concerns to China about the impact of mega-dams and had urged Beijing to "ensure the interests of downstream states" were not harmed. They had also emphasised the "need for transparency and consultation with downstream countries". India plans to build a hydropower dam on the Siang river, which would act as a buffer against sudden water releases from China's dam and prevent flooding in their areas. China's foreign ministry has previously responded to India, saying in 2020 that China has a "legitimate right" to dam the river and has considered downstream impacts. Bangladesh also expressed concerns to China about the project, with officials in February sending a letter to Beijing requesting more information on the dam. Chinese authorities have long eyed the hydropower potential of the dam's location in the Tibet Autonomous Region. It's in a massive canyon that is said to be the world's deepest and longest on land, along a section where the Yarlung Tsangpo - Tibet's longest river - makes a sharp U-turn around the Namcha Barwa mountain. In the process of making this turn - which has been termed "the Great Bend" - the river drops hundreds of metres in its elevation. Earlier reports indicated that authorities planned to drill multiple 20km-long tunnels through the Namcha Barwa mountain, via which they would divert part of the river. Over the weekend a Xinhua report on Li Qiang's visit said that engineers would conduct "straightening" work and "divert water through tunnels" to build five cascading power stations. Xinhua also reported that the hydropower dam's electricity would be mainly transmitted out of the region to be used elsewhere, while accommodating for Tibet's needs. China has been eyeing the steep valleys and mighty rivers in the rural west - where Tibetan territories are located - to build mega-dams and hydropower stations that can sustain the country's electricity-hungry eastern metropolises. President Xi Jinping has personally pushed for this in a policy called "xidiandongsong", or "sending western electricity eastwards". The Chinese government and state media have presented these dams as a win-win solution that cuts pollution and generates clean energy while uplifting rural Tibetans. But activists say the dams are the latest example of Beijing's exploitation of Tibetans and their land - and past protests have been crushed. Last year, the Chinese government rounded up hundreds of Tibetans who had been protesting against another hydropower dam. It ended in arrests and beatings, with some people seriously injured, the BBC learned through sources and verified footage. There are also environmental concerns over the flooding of Tibetan valleys renowned for their biodiversity, and the possible dangers of building dams in a region rife with earthquake fault lines. CORRECTION 21 July 2025: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that the estimated cost of the dam was $1.67bn. A dam ignited rare Tibetan protests. They ended in beatings and arrests, BBC finds Solve the daily Crossword
France 24
2 days ago
- Business
- France 24
China starts construction on world's biggest hydropower project in Tibet
06:06 From the show Reading time 1 min Chinese Premier Li Qiang attended a ceremony on Saturday marking the start of construction for a new $167 billion mega dam project in Tibet. The project aims to boost the national economy as well as increase the country's capacity to produce clean energy, but it raises risks to biodiversity and to relations with India. Also in this edition, we look at the success of Barcelona's tourist tax scheme.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
China embarks on world's largest hydropower dam, capital markets cheer
By Farah Master and Samuel Shen HONG KONG/SHANGHAI (Reuters) -China's Premier Li Qiang announced construction had begun on what will be the world's largest hydropower dam, on the eastern rim of the Tibetan Plateau, at an estimated cost of at least $170 billion, the official Xinhua news agency said. Commencement of the hydropower project, China's most ambitious since the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze, was seized by Chinese markets as proof of economic stimulus, sending stock prices and bond yields higher on Monday. Made up of five cascade hydropower stations with the capacity to produce 300 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, equal to the amount of electricity consumed by Britain last year, the dam will be located in the lower reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo. A section of the river tumbles 2,000 metres (6,561 feet) in a span of 50km (31 miles), offering huge hydropower potential. India and Bangladesh have already raised concerns about its possible impact on the millions of people downstream, while NGOs warned of the risk to one of the richest and most diverse environments on the plateau. Beijing has said the dam will help meet power demand in Tibet and the rest of China without having a major effect on downstream water supplies or the environment. Operations are expected sometime in the 2030s. China's CSI Construction & Engineering Index jumped as much as 4% to a seven-month high. Power Construction Corporation of China and Arcplus Group PLC surged by their 10% daily limit. "From an investment perspective, mature hydropower projects offer bond-like dividends," Wang Zhuo, partner of Shanghai Zhuozhu Investment Management said, while cautioning that speculative buying into related stocks would inflate valuations. The project will drive demand for construction and building materials such as cement and civil explosives, Huatai Securities said in a note to clients. Shares of Beijing-listed Hunan Wuxin Tunnel Intelligent Equipment Co, which sells tunnel construction equipment, surged 30%. So did shares of Geokang Technologies Co Ltd, which makes intelligent monitoring terminals. Cement maker Xizang Tianlu Co Ltd and Tibet GaoZheng Explosive Co, producer of civil explosive materials, both jumped their maximum 10%. BROADER IMPACT The Chinese premier described the dam as a "project of the century" and said special emphasis "must be placed on ecological conservation to prevent environmental damage," Xinhua said on Saturday. Government bond yields rose across the board on Monday, with the most-traded 30-year treasury futures falling to five-week lows, as investors interpreted the news as part of China's economic stimulus. The project, overseen by the newly formed state-owned China Yajiang Group, marks a major boost in public investment to help bolster economic growth as current drivers show signs of faltering. "Assuming 10 years of construction, the investment/GDP boost could reach 120 billion yuan ($16.7 billion) for a single year," said Citi in a note. "The actual economic benefits could go beyond that." China has not given an estimate on the number of jobs the project could create. The Three Gorges, which took almost two decades to complete, generated nearly a million jobs, state media reported, though it displaced at least a similar number of people. Authorities have not indicated how many people would be displaced by the Yarlung Zangbo project. The Yarlung Zangbo becomes the Brahmaputra River as it leaves Tibet and flows south into India and finally into Bangladesh. NGOs say the dam will irreversibly harm the Tibetan Plateau and hit millions of people downstream. The chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh, Pema Khandu, said earlier this year that such a colossal dam barely 50km from the border could dry out 80% of the river passing through the Indian state while potentially inundating downstream areas in Arunachal and neighbouring Assam state. Some experts also express concerns for a project in a seismically active zone. ($1 = 7.1788 Chinese yuan) Solve the daily Crossword
