CHINA’S SUPER DAM

Subject: International Events

Context: China will build a “super” dam on the lower reaches of the YarlungZangboriver close to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Tibet, in a move that could have a far-reaching impact on northeast India’s water security.

Concept:

• Originating in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), the trans-border YarlungZangbo flows into Arunachal Pradesh where it is called Siang and then to Assam as Brahmaputra before flowing into Bangladesh.
• The dam could come up in the Medog county of TAR, which is close to Arunachal Pradesh.
• China has already built several smaller dams on the YarlungZangboriver.
• The new dam’s ability to generate hydropower could be three times that of central China’s Three Gorges Dam, which has the largest installed hydropower capacity in the world.