China Launches Massive Hydropower Project to Power Coastal Cities and Cement Regional Integration

Infrastructure and State-Building: China’s Ambitions for the Lower Yarlung Tsangpo Project

19 July 2025, Nyingchi, Tibet. Against a bold red backdrop with snow-capped mountains looming in the distance, China’s Premier Li Qiang—flanked on both sides by four senior officials and leaders of major state-owned enterprises—formally announced the ground breaking on the Lower Yarlung Tsangpo Hydropower Project (LYT project). Below the stage, rows of officials and engineers stood in disciplined formation, as though receiving orders for a pre-b…

China’s Hydropower Project on Yarlung Tsangpo Threatens Tibet’s Fragile Ecosystem and Regional Stability

by Dechen Palmo (a research fellow at the Tibet Policy Institute), for Institute for Security and Development Policy On July 19, China announced the commencement of the construction of what is set to become the world’s largest hydropower project on the lower reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo in Nyingtri (Ch: Nyingchi), Tibet. The project comprises of five cascade power stations with a total investment of about 1.2 trillion yuan, and it is targeted …

China launches massive hydropower project to power coastal cities and cement regional integration

China has officially broken ground on what is set to become the world’s largest hydroelectric power project, located in the Tibet Autonomous Region. The multibillion-yuan initiative – costing an estimated 1.2 trillion yuan ($167 billion) – is designed to generate electricity for China’s coastal economic hubs while strengthening Beijing’s grip on the remote and politically […] The post China launches massive hydropower project to power coastal ci…