India builds big to counter China’s mega dam push India has begun work on a mega dam in Arunachal Pradesh, set to be the country’s tallest and most powerful at 11,000 MW.
The move comes as a direct counter to China’s $137 billion mega-dam on the Yarlung Tsangpo, which has raised fears of Beijing controlling the Brahmaputra’s flow into India and Bangladesh.
India builds tallest dam to counter China's Tibet project.
India has begun building what will be its tallest dam, a 278-meter-high concrete gravity dam, in Arunachal Pradesh. The project is a direct response to China's large-scale hydropower efforts in Tibet.
State-run NHPC Limited has put out a global tender for the main dam's construction, which is valued at Rs 17,069 crore for the Dibang Multipurpose Project.
This dam, which is set to be finished by 2032, has two main goals: to generate power and to help control flooding. The project has a total cost of Rs 31,875 crore, and its urgency increased after China announced in July that it had started building what will be the world's largest hydropower dam on the Yarlung Tsangpo River in Tibet.
A Strategic Buffer
The accelerated timeline for India's construction is a direct response to concerns about China's Motuo Hydropower Station.
The Chinese dam is expected to produce 300 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, which is three times the output of China's Three Gorges Dam. With an estimated cost of $167 billion, this project gives China potential control over the Yarlung Tsangpo River, which becomes the Brahmaputra River in India.
According to CNN-News18, the Dibang dam is intended to "act as a buffer against sudden water releases from China's dam and prevent flooding in India".
Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu has previously warned that China could use its upstream dam like a "water bomb," potentially causing floods on Indian territory.
The Dibang River itself contributes about 7% of the Brahmaputra's annual flow at Pandu, placing it in a strategic position to lessen any downstream effects from China's water management decisions.
Power and Economic Benefits
The Dibang project is designed to be India's largest hydropower facility, with a capacity of 2,880 MW. It's expected to generate 11,223 million units of electricity each year. When the project is finished, Arunachal Pradesh will receive Rs 700 crore annually in free power.
Additionally, the dam will have the capacity to moderate floods by holding up to 1,282 million cubic meters of water during the monsoon season.
Chief Minister Khandu and NHPC Chairman Sanjay Kumar Singh recently visited the construction site to reaffirm their commitment to the 2032 completion date.
Broader Water Tensions
India's decision to speed up construction is happening in the middle of ongoing tensions with China over water resources. In August 2025, India's Ministry of External Affairs expressed its concerns over China's dam projects, stressing the "need for transparency and consultation with downstream countries".
China, for its part, has maintained its right to develop hydropower projects within its own borders while claiming to consider downstream impacts.
This situation highlights the lack of a formal water-sharing treaty between the two countries. There is currently only a limited agreement for data sharing, which China has previously suspended during diplomatic standoffs.
The Dibang project's 91-month construction timeline, as detailed in the tender document, shows that it's a key part of India's regional security strategy.
The project is seen as a "dam-for-dam" approach to counter any potential water manipulation from upstream, while also boosting India's renewable energy capabilities in the sensitive northeastern border region.
