China Starts Building World's Biggest Dam on Brahmaputra

China on Saturday formally started the construction of a $167.8 billion dam over the Brahmaputra River in Tibet, close to the Indian border in Arunachal Pradesh.

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BEIJING:

Chinese Premier Li Qiang announced the start of the construction of the dam at a groundbreaking ceremony in the lower reaches of the Brahmaputra River, locally known as Yarlung Zangbo, at Nyingchi City, official media reported.

The groundbreaking ceremony took place at the dam site of Nyingchi's Mainling hydropower station in Tibet Autonomous Region, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

The hydropower project, regarded as the biggest infrastructure project in the world, raised concerns in the lower riparian countries, India and Bangladesh.

The project will consist of five cascade hydropower stations, with a total investment estimated at around 1.2 trillion Yuan (about $167.8 billion), the report said.