Many questions as Bhutan plans big dam with reservoir

As Bhutan’s new prime minister prioritises the Sankosh dam, it highlights many questions about Bhutan’s pursuit of hydropower

In his first major interview to the Indian media, Prime Minister of Bhutan Lotay Tshering stated that his priority for India-Bhutan relations was to build Bhutan’s first reservoir-based dam, the Sankosh project. Bhutan has long been an outlier in the region given its pursuit of development underpinned by the production and export of electricity entirely through run-of-the-river hydroelectricity, which account for the largest share of its economy. While these projects have an impact on the ecosystem, with large amounts of water displaced from riverbeds through concrete tunnels in particular, they are less intrusive than reservoir-based projects that drown land. [Readmore]