Dibang Multipurpose: 2,880 MW behind a 278-metre concrete-gravity dam in Lower Dibang Valley

Background

The 2,880 MW Dibang Multipurpose Hydroelectric Project of Arunachal Pradesh is to come up near Munli village in Lower Dibang Valley District. The Ministry of Power records that the project will have a 278-metres-high dam, which would be the highest Concrete-Gravity Dam of India, and that it is planned to be constructed with the Roller Compacted Concrete (RCC) technique, making it the highest RCC Dam of the World. The project is to be built at a cost of more than Rs. 31,875 crores. It is designed to generate 11,223 million units of hydropower every year, to be fed into the Northern Grid, with a construction period of 108 months. The project is designed as an energy storage project, with flood moderation as one of the key objectives besides power generation; for flood moderation a capacity of 1,282.60 Million Cubic Meters is to be created by keeping the reservoir below the Full Reservoir Level in the monsoon. Arunachal Pradesh is to receive 12% free power from the project, together with an additional 1% free power for a Local Area Development Fund. The project is stated to have the potential of providing direct employment to 500 people during the construction phase and to 300 people during operation.