(TibetanReview.net, Jun15’26) – China has formally completed on Jun 14 the first large-scale hydropower station on the main stream of the Yarlung Tsangpo river in Tibet, following the conclusion of its final acceptance check. An acceptance check is the final testing phase used to confirm that a product or system meets the original business requirements and is ready for release. China is also building the world largest hydropower dam on the same river system before it enters India and then Bangladesh, raising serious ecological, geological, and geostrategic concerns both within and outside occupied Tibet.
The acceptance opinions state that the key project of the Zangmu hydropower station has been fully completed in accordance with the approved design scale and plans. Since the reservoir began water impoundment, it has withstood 11 flood seasons, reported China’s official globaltimes.cn Jun 14, citing Chengdu Engineering Corporation Limited under Power China which was responsible for the planning, demonstration and full-stage survey and design.
Located in Gyatsa (Chinese: Gyaca or Jiāchá) County, Lhokha (Shannan) City, construction of the project began in Sep 2010. It was fully put into power generation in Oct 2015, half a year ahead of schedule, the report said.
To date, its total power generation has exceeded 22.2 billion kilowatt-hours, equivalent to saving approximately 7.4 million tons of standard coal and cutting carbon dioxide emissions by around 22.2 million tons, the company has said.
With an installed capacity of 510 megawatt and a maximum dam height of 116 meters, it is the first large-scale hydropower station planned and built on the main stream of the Yarlung Tsangpo river. The report said its construction marked a major leap for power development in Tibet Autonomous Region from the 100-megawatt class to the 500-megawatt class.
Although the report goes out of way to say how the project has also delivered remarkable environmental benefits, this and numerous other dams, including the world’s largest, which have been or are still being built on this river system lie on a seismically active zone. Hence they present perennial dangers to the surrounding and downstream areas, like ticking time bombs with unknown settings.