China’s $167bn mega-dam project raises alarm
Beijing has begun construction of the world’s largest hydropower facility, raising concerns about the displacement of Tibetan communities and the security and environmental impacts on India and Bangladesh
MEDOG DAM PROJECT
Yarlung Tsangpo river, Brahmaputra in Hindi, turns into Jamuna in Bangladesh
Contested Arunachal Pradesh region claimed by China and India
Four to six 20km-long tunnels to be drilled through Namcha Barwa mountain to divert river
Yarlung Tsangpo river in Medog County, Tibet
Medog China
Three Gorges China
Baihetan China
Itaipu
Paraguay/Brazil
Capacity: 60 GigaWatt
22.5
16
14
Expected annual output 300GWh
Five cascade dams
Fears of flooding and water scarcity downstrea
Elevation change 2,000m
50km
Yarlung Tsangpo
Lhasa
CHINA
TIBET AUTONOMOUS REGION
Great Bend: Through Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon – world’s deepest
Medog dam site
Disputed border
NEPAL
BHUTAN
SUMP
ARUNACHAL PRADESH
ASSAM
MYANMAR
INDIA
BANGLADESH
Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP): 11.2GW dam planned by India as strategic counter to China – held up by “local issues”
Bay of Bengal
200km
125 miles
Sources: Reuters, BBC, OpenStreetMap
Picture: Newscom
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