Yarlung Tsangpo Hydropower Project Facts: Timeline, Budget, and Impact
“The Yarlung Tsangpo Hydropower Project (Medog, Tibet) 1. Construction Timeline Approval: Officially approved in December 2024. Construction Status: Work has begun. Completion: Broadly expected in the 2030s, though precise commissioning dates remain undefined. Groundbreaking Ceremony: A July 2025 event with Premier Li Qiang was reported, but this claim is not corroborated by current sources. 2. Budget Estimated Cost: About ¥1 trillion (≈ USD 160–165 billion). Confidence: High — consistently reported and officially approved. Notes: Other figures (USD 170 billion or USD 137 billion) are less reliable. 3. Geographical Location Situated at the “Great Bend” of the Yarlung Tsangpo River in Medog County, Tibet. Located within the Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon, the world’s deepest canyon. Key feature: The river’s sharp U‑turn around Namcha Barwa Mountain, creating a ~2,000 m elevation drop suitable for hydropower. 4. Purpose Planned installed capacity: ~60 GW, making it the world’s largest hydropower scheme. Annual output: Often cited as 300 billion kWh, but this figure is not corroborated. Strategic aims: Supports carbon neutrality goals and West‑to‑East Power Transmission. Raises geopolitical concerns downstream in India and Bangladesh. 5. Functions Energy output: Comparisons to UK’s annual electricity use are reported but not confirmed. Carbon neutrality flagship: Supports China’s 2030 peak emissions and 2060 neutrality targets. Transmission: Reports of a 2,000 km UHV line exist, but not corroborated. Infrastructure upgrades: Claims of new highways/tunnels are not confirmed. Hydraulic advantage: Exploits ~2,000 m drop for efficient generation. 6. Benefits & Limitations Benefits Massive renewable energy production. Key to China’s climate goals. Reduces reliance on coal. Potential to power high‑tech industries with green energy. Limitations Geological risks: Earthquakes, landslides, glacier floods. Political conflict: India and Bangladesh fear water control misuse. No treaties: Lack of official agreements fuels mistrust. 7. AI Tools Used Google Gemini and Gemini 3 Flash assisted in generating text and layout. Fact‑checking supported by FactOrFake AI.”
Summary
The Medog (Yarlung Tsangpo) hydropower project was officially approved in December 2024, construction has begun, and completion is expected in the 2030s, though exact commissioning dates are not set. The budget is about ¥1 trillion (≈ USD 160‑165 billion) and the planned capacity is roughly 60 GW, making it the world’s largest hydropower scheme, located at the “Great Bend” in Medog County within the Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon. Unverified claims include a July 2025 groundbreaking with Premier Li Qiang, an annual output of 300 billion kWh, a 2,000 km UHV transmission line, and associated highway/tunnel upgrades.
Sources 59 searched
- Medog Hydropower Station - Wikipedia
The Medog Hydropower Station (Chinese: 墨脱水电站) or Motuo Hydropower Station is a planned 60,000-megawatt (MW) run-of-the-river hydroelectric dam project under development on the Yarlung Tsangpo river in Tibet Autonomous Region, China. Upon completion, it will become the world's largest ...
- Yarlung Tsangpo - Wikipedia
In November 2020, the chairman ... which would be the world's largest. In December 2024, China approved the construction of the Medog Hydropower Station, intended to be the world's largest hydropower dam on the Yarlung Tsangpo; the project would cost about 1 trillion yuan ...
- Infographic: 5 hydroelectric dam projects that show how China leads the world in dam construction
Medog Hydropower Station will not be completed until next decade, but it is planned to make even the Three Gorges Dam look modest by comparison. With close to three times as much expected generating capacity, the dam will harness a 2000 m elevation drop along a 50 km stretch of Tibet’s Yarlung Tsangpo River.
- China’s Tibet mega dam: safety and quality are ‘top priorities’ | South China Morning Post
The dam on the Yarlung Tsangpo will be the world’s largest hydropower facility.
- The Project of the Century: Inside China's $165 Billion Mega-Dam That Is Reshaping Asian Geopolitics - CCE l ONLINE NEWS
Built on a sacred Himalayan canyon, the Medog Hydropower Station is the most ambitious — and most contentious — infrastructure project in human history. It promises to power China's AI economy.
- Environmental and Geopolitical Risks in the Development of Medog Hydropower Station - Green Network Asia
In 1985, the Chinese Government established the Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon as a national nature reserve. According to Article 32 of Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Nature Reserves, no production installations shall be built in the core area and buffer zone of nature reserves. In contrast, the construction of the Medog hydropower dam is an act of violation against their own efforts to protect the area.
- Already Equipped with a Dam That Slows the Earth's Rotation, China Is Now Building an Even Larger $165 Billion Hydropower Colossus
© China Starts Building World’s Largest Hydropower Dam In Tibet. Image Credit: Shutterstock ... China has begun construction of what it says will become the world’s largest hydropower project on the Yarlung Tsangpo River in Tibet, a move that carries both energy and geopolitical consequences.
- China Is Working On Dam Bigger Than Three Gorges; Why Is It A Concern For India And Bangladesh?
China has begun constructing the Medog Hydropower Station on the Yarlung Zangbo River, set to be the world's largest dam, surpassing Three Gorges. While China aims for energy security, India and Bangladesh express significant concerns. They fear potential impacts on downstream water flow, agriculture, fishing, and biodiversity, citing the dam's location in a seismically active zone and its implications for regional water security.
- When Energy Becomes Leverage: What China’s Medog Dam Reveals About Infrastructure Power
Planned near the “Great Bend” of the Yarlung Tsangpo River, where it plunges out of the Tibetan plateau toward South Asia, the project is expected to reach roughly 60 gigawatts of installed capacity, which is nearly three times the output ...
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