Construction of a controversial "mega-dam" on a river flowing through Tibet and India has begun, Chinese state media reported, with Premier Li Keqiang attending a groundbreaking ceremony.
AFP writes that China announced the project in December on the river, which is called the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibet and the Brahmaputra in India, linking it to its goals of achieving carbon neutrality and economic objectives in the region.
When built, the dam will surpass the record-breaking Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River in central China and potentially have a significant impact on millions of people living downstream in India and Bangladesh.
India said in January that it had expressed concerns to China about the project and would "monitor the situation and take necessary measures to protect its interests."
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs said at the time that China was urged to ensure that the interests of states downstream of the Brahmaputra River were not harmed by activities in the upstream regions.
In December, China's Foreign Ministry claimed the project would have no "negative impact" downstream and promised to "maintain communication with riparian countries."
The project involves the construction of five hydroelectric power plants, with a capacity of 300 billion kWh per year, with a total investment estimated at approximately $167,1 billion (about 143,6 billion euros), Xinhua reported.
The BBC reports that China has built several hydroelectric dams along the Yarlung Tsangpo River over the past decade in an attempt to harness its power as a source of renewable energy. Flowing through the deepest canyon on Earth, one section of the river drops 2.000 meters in a short span of just 50 kilometers, offering huge hydroelectric potential for electricity generation.
"The electricity generated will primarily be delivered to other regions for consumption, while also meeting local electricity needs in Tibet," the agency added.
Environmentalists have warned of the irreversible impact of these megaprojects on the ecologically sensitive Tibetan Plateau.
India and China, neighbors and rival Asian powers, share thousands of kilometers of border, where tens of thousands of soldiers are stationed on both sides.
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