BEIJING: The massive economic stimulus and boost to clean power from a 1.2 trillion yuan mega-dam in Tibet has proven alluring enough for Chinese leaders to set aside concerns about potential damage to biodiversity and relations with India.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang launched construction of the hydropower project on the lower reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo river on Saturday, and unveiled the China Yajiang Group, a new company that will be charged with managing the dam’s development, according to Xinhua News Agency.
While much is still unknown about the project, its cost shows the epic scale engineers are envisioning, with the estimate more than four times larger than the US$37bil the Three Gorges Dam.
That promises an economic jolt for sectors like construction, cement and steel, and a major new source of clean power that could eventually help the country reach its goal of net zero emissions by 2060.
Power Construction Corp of China and China Energy Engineering Corp both rose by their daily limit of 10% in Shanghai. — Bloomberg
