China’s Medog Dam: A double-edged sword for South Asia

China’s decision in December to greenlight the construction of the world’s largest dam on the Yarlung Tsangpo River, also known as the Brahmaputra in India and Jamuna in Bangladesh, marks a monumental development in global hydropower infrastructure. This ambitious project, the Medog Hydropower station, is set to redefine the scale of renewable energy generation, bolster China’s climate goals and reshape the geopolitics of transboundary water resources in South Asia. Yet, its implications extend far beyond its engineering marvels, as it poses both opportunities and challenges for regional stability and cooperation.

The Medog Dam, located in the remote and rugged Tibetan Plateau, is designed to harness the immense hydropower potential of the river, which descends sharply as it flows through the world’s deepest gorge. This dam is designed to generate an enormous 300 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, making it three times more powerful than the Three Gorges Dam, currently the largest in the world.

Situated near the Great Bend of the Yarlung Tsangpo, the dam capitalises on the river’s natural drop of over 2,000 metres within a short stretch, providing unparalleled energy-generation potential. With an estimated cost exceeding $137 billion, the dam will be the most expensive infrastructure project globally, reflecting China’s commitment...

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