China officially commenced construction on Saturday of a colossal USD 167.8 billion dam project on the Brahmaputra River in Tibet, near the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. The announcement was made by Chinese Premier Li Qiang during a ground-breaking ceremony held in Nyingchi City, situated along the lower reaches of the Brahmaputra, locally known in China as the Yarlung Zangbo, according to state media.

The ceremony took place at the site of the Mainling hydropower station in Tibet’s Nyingchi region, as reported by the official Xinhua news agency. The project, billed as the world’s largest infrastructure initiative, has raised concerns among downstream nations, particularly India and Bangladesh.

The scheme will comprise five cascade hydropower stations, with a total investment estimated at approximately 1.2 trillion Yuan (around USD 167.8 billion). A 2023 report forecasts that the hydropower station will generate over 300 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually—sufficient to supply the yearly power needs of more than 300 million people.