Etalin Hydropower Project on Dibang River Approved

India has approved plans to build $ 3.9B 3,097MW Etalin Hydroelectric Project on the Dibang River, a tributary of the Brahmaputra, in Lower Dibang Valley in the state of Arunachal Pradesh in northeast India, reports ToI. The project is to be developed by Etalin Hydro Electric Power Company, a joint venture between Jindal Power Limited and Arunachal Pradesh’s Hydro Power Development Corporation.When complete in 2028 it will generate electricity from 12 turbines and will also moderate flooding during India’s monsoon season.The project was conceived in the early 1980s. In January 2004, approval was granted for the clearance of a 54 square kilometer site in Munli village in the Lower Dibang Valley. The government then approved an investment of $ 186M in planning and preparation in July 2019.The barrier will be a 278m high, 375m long concrete gravity dam, which will be the highest of its kind in India. This will create a 43km-long reservoir with a gross storage capacity of 3.85B cubic metres.The lead consultant for the scheme is Swedish–Finish design engineer AFRY. It carried out a detailed project report, geotechnical appraisal of the future dam’s foundations as well as the construction and project management planning.In 2020, the Forest Advisory Committee had reviewed the controversial 3097 MW Etalin Hydroelectric Project that seeks to divert 1150.08 hectares of land. The project would result in felling over 2.7 lakh trees in the biodiversity-rich Dibang Valley.

Etalin Hydropower Project on Dibang River Approved

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