Siang upper project will counter China's dam impact: Brahmaputra Board chief
The 11,000 MW dam is being set up in response to China’s planned 60,000 MW dam.;

Guwahati, June 21: The dam India is building on the Siang river will help reduce the impact of China’s ‘Great Bend’ dam, Brahmaputra Board chairman Dr Ranbir Singh said on Friday.
China has proposed to build a 60,000 MW dam in the Yarlung Tsangpo river (Brahmaputra in India) in Medog county – the largest hydropower dam in the world. The project was approved on December 25, 2024, and is included in China’s 14th Five-Year Plan. The dam could significantly impact Northeast India, particularly the Brahmaputra river basin. The dam’s construction and operation could alter water flow, potentially leading to decreased water availability during certain seasons, increased flood risks, and other ecological and social consequences.
Asked if the Brahmaputra Board was doing any study on the possible impacts of the Chinese dam on the Brahmaputra basin, Dr Singh told The Assam Tribune, “The Board is not doing any study. But the Government of India is seized of the matter and is studying the implications. The Government of India is dealing with it at all levels.”
“I think the dam that is coming up on Siang – the Siang Upper project – will address the issue to a significant extent,” he said.
The Siang Upper Dam is a proposed large-scale hydroelectric project on the Siang river in Arunachal Pradesh. It aims to generate 11,000 MW of power and also act as a flood control measure for the Brahmaputra basin.
The 11,000 MW dam is being set up in response to China’s planned 60,000 MW dam.
The Yarlung Tsangpo becomes Siang (also known as Dihang) in Arunachal Pradesh, and eventually becomes the Brahmaputra in Assam.
By
Staff Reporter