China building New dam in Tibet and exact location and implications

A New Dam Is Being Built by China in Tibet

The fact that China is building a new dam on the Mabja Zangbo river in Tibet, which is located close to the tri-junction of India, Nepal, and Tibet, is a source of concern due to the fact that China has increased its creation of military and dual use infrastructure in both the eastern and western sectors of the LAC (Line of Actual Control).

What is the Context of the Situation?

1. The latest turn of events follows China’s announcement in 2021 that it intends to build a massive dam on the lower reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo to generate up to 70 GW of power. This would make it three times as powerful as China’s Three Gorges dam, which is currently the largest hydropower plant in the world in terms of its installed capacity.
2. The Brahmaputra is a transnational river that is 2,880 kilometres long and is called the Yarlung Tsangpo in China. Its source is the Mansarovar lake, and it runs 1,700 kilometres through Tibet, 920 kilometres through Arunachal Pradesh and Assam, and 260 kilometres in Bangladesh. It is responsible for around 30 percent of the country’s freshwater resources and 40 percent of the country’s potential hydropower output.

Where exactly may one find the dam in question?

1. The new dam may be found around 16 kilometres to the north of the three-way intersection. It is directly across from the Kalapani region of Uttarakhand.
2. The Mabja Zangbo river, which is a tributary of the Ganga, is where the dam is located.
3. Since May of 2021, construction work on the dam has been seen taking place on the upstream bank of the river in Burang county, which is located in Tibet.
4. Before it meets up with the Ganga River in India, the Mabja Zangbo River feeds into either the Ghaghara or the Karnali River in Nepal.