NEW DELHI, Nov 30 - China has announced its decision to build a hydropower project on the Brahmaputra river (Yarlung Zangbo). According to the Chinese government owned newspaper Global Times, China will �implement hydropower exploitation in the downstream of the Yarlung Zangbo river.�
This was put forward in the proposals for formulating the country�s 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) and its long term goals through 2035 made by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, chairman of the Power Construction Corp of China, or POWERCHINA, Yan Zhiyong was quoted saying at a conference recently.
�There is no parallel in history... it will be a historic opportunity for the Chinese hydropower industry,� he told a conference to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the founding of the China Society for Hydropower Engineering.
According to the report, the mainstream of the Yarlung Zangbo river has the richest water resources in southwest China�s Tibet Autonomous Region � a potential to generate about 80 million kilowatt hours (kWh), while the 50-km section of the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon can provide 70 million kWh. The Yarlung Zangbo river can provide 300 billion kWh of clean, renewable and zero-carbon electricity annually.
The project will play a significant role in realizing China�s goal of reaching a carbon emission peak before 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060. �It is a project for national security, including water resources and domestic security,� the POWERCHINA chairman said, noting that the project will also smooth cooperation with South Asia.
The hydropower station could generate an income of USD3 billion annually for the Tibet Autonomous Region, he said.
POWERCHINA on October 16 signed a strategic cooperation agreement covering the 14th Five-Year Plan with the Tibet Autonomous Region and held meetings with the region�s party secretary Wu Yingjie and regional government chairman Qizhala.
The hydropower development of the Yarlung Zangbo river will provide more opportunities for cooperation between China and South Asian countries, which can learn from the mode of the Lancang-Mekong cooperation mechanism, through dialogue and establishment of cooperation mechanisms to promote comprehensive utilization and development of water resources.
