BEIJING, July 23 – China has officially begun the construction of a hydroelectric project in the lower reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo River in the Tibet Autonomous Region in the southwest of the country with a total investment of about 1.2 trillion yuan (US$167.2 billion, or RM709.95 billion), according to a statement on the website of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China, reported Sputnik/RIA Novosti.
“Chinese Premier Li Qiang announced on Saturday (July 19) the start of the construction of a hydropower project in the lower reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River,” the statement said.,
It is noted that the project will consist of five cascade hydroelectric power plants “with a total investment estimated at around 1.2 trillion yuan (about 167.8 billion US dollars)”.
The energy generated will primarily be supplied for external consumption, as well as to meet local demand in Tibet.
The construction of the hydroelectric project is being carried out by China Yajiang Group Co, which will also be responsible for the operation of the facility after its completion.
Today, the world’s largest hydroelectric power plant is considered to be Sanxia (Three Gorges), located on the Yangtze River in Hubei Province in central China. The design capacity of the Sanxia hydroelectric power plant is 22.4 million kilowatts, its construction was completed in October 2008. Earlier, Chinese media reported that the planned installed capacity of the new hydroelectric power station would be 60 million kilowatts, which is almost three times more than the installed capacity of Sanxia.
The project had already caused concern in New Delhi, before the official launch of construction. In early January, the Indian Foreign Ministry said that India was monitoring China’s plans to build the world’s largest hydroelectric power station in the Tibet Autonomous Region, and called on Beijing not to infringe on the interests of New Delhi and other countries when building such facilities.
The 1,700-kilometre long Yarlung Tsangpo River originates on the Jima Yangzong glacier near Mount Kailash in southwestern Tibet and flows into the Sing River in India, then into the Brahmaputra, after which it reaches Bangladesh.
