China approves hydroelectric dam project with capacity three times larger than Three Gorges Dam

Beijing [China], December 26: China's mega-dam project on the Tibetan Plateau is expected to be larger than any other infrastructure project in the world .
Xinhua News Agency reported on December 25 that the Chinese government has just approved a hydropower dam project on the lower reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River in Tibet , which is expected to play an active role in accelerating the construction of a new development model and promoting high-quality development.
The mega-dam project on the longest river in Tibet is expected to have a capacity three times that of the Three Gorges Dam in the Yangtze River, with an investment capital of more than 1,000 billion yuan (3.48 million billion VND) and far exceed any infrastructure project in the world, according to the South China Morning Post .
The Yarlung Zangpo River flows through the Tibetan Plateau, creating the world's deepest gorge and traversing an astonishing 7,667 m elevation difference, before reaching India, where it is known as the Brahmaputra River.
The project is expected to generate nearly 300 billion kWh of electricity annually. For comparison, the Three Gorges Dam , currently the world's largest installed capacity, is designed to produce 88.2 billion kWh.
In 2020, Mr. Yan Zhiyong, then chairman of the China Power Construction Corporation, said that the location on the Yarlung Zangbo River is one of the areas with the most hydropower potential in the world.
"The downstream area has a gradient difference of 2,000 meters over a distance of 50 kilometers, corresponding to nearly 70 million kilowatts of exploitable resources, three times that of the Three Gorges Dam," he said.
The dam will be built in one of mainland China's rainiest regions, posing unprecedented engineering challenges.
To exploit the river's hydropower potential, the project will require drilling four to six 20-km-long tunnels through the Namcha Barwa mountain range to divert half of the river's flow at a rate of about 2,000 m3 / second.
Additionally, the project site is located along a tectonic plate boundary where earthquakes are possible and the geology of the plateau is significantly different from that of the plains.
According to a 2023 report, the hydropower plant is expected to generate more than 300 billion kWh of electricity annually, enough to meet the annual needs of more than 300 million people.
Xinhua said the hydropower project will prioritize ecological protection and promote the development of nearby solar and wind power sources, adding to the region's clean energy supply. The report did not specify when construction would begin or the exact location of the project.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper