Beijing: China on Friday said its proposed dam
on the Brahmaputra river in Tibet is not a "very big one" to
cause concern in India and Bangladesh, claiming that it would
not lead to any major change in the quantum of the water flow
to the countries downstream.
"At present, the hydropower station on the Yarlung
Tsangpo (Brahmaputra) river is not a very big one and will not
lead to any big change in the downstream water levels or
affect the harnessing efforts by the downstream countries,"
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told a media
briefing here.
Jiang was responding to a question on concerns in the
neighbourhood over some of China`s projects on inter-state
rivers.
China, which is planning to build a USD 1.2 billion run
of the river dam to generate 510 mw power, has assured India
several times, including during the visit of Prime Minister,
Wen Jiabao to New Delhi last year, that it was not aimed at
diverting the river waters to affect the flow to India and
other lower riparian countries.
Four expert-level talks have been held to exchange
provision of hydrological data and flood management.
Jiang said China will fully consider the potential impact
on the downstream countries.
On Vietnam`s concerns about similar project over Mekong
river, she said "during the course of the process of
development of water resources, we have conducted serious and
careful scientific studies before the development of the
project."
"Taking into consideration the concerns of the downstream
countries, we have taken a lot of environment protection
measures," she said, adding that surveys have shown that the
project will have very limited impact on water availability
downstream.
"This conclusion is also shared by many international
environmental protection organisations. So I would like to
stress that China consistently follows the foreign policy of
establishing friendly and good neighbourly relations with
neighbouring countries. We will not do anything that harms
such relations," Jiang said.
PTI
