On 19 July 2025, Chinese Premier Li Qiang officially launched construction of the Yarlung Zangbo (Brahmaputra) Hydropower Project in Medog County, Tibet Autonomous Region, a project involving a “cutting the bend” tunnel diversion approach, channelling part of the river’s water through massive tunnels. In the canyon’s natural drop of 2,300- 2,400 meters, five cascade hydropower stations will be built at a total estimated cost of ¥1.2 trillion (US $167 billion).

Chen Dongping, former Deputy Secretary-General of the China Society for Hydropower Engineering, told “China Industry News” that the “cutting-the-bend tunnel diversion” method, first used at the Jinping II Hydropower Station on the Yalong River, created a 120- km underground network over 2,500 meters deep, a world record. Lin Boqiang, Chair Professor at Xiamen University’s School of Management and Director of the China Energy Policy Research Institute revealed that “cutting the...