Telegraph
May 14, 2006

Chinese leaders are drawing up plans to use nuclear explosions, in breach of the international test-ban treaty, to blast a tunnel through the Himalayas for the world’s biggest hydroelectric plant.

Beijing – Chinese leaders are drawing up plans to use nuclear explosions, in breach of the international test-ban treaty, to blast a tunnel through the Himalayas for the world’s biggest hydroelectric plant. The proposed power station is forecast to produce more than twice as much electricity as the controversial Three Gorges Dam being built on the Yangtze river. The project, which also involves diverting Tibetan water to arid regions, is due to begin as soon as construction of the Three Gorges Dam is completed in 2009. China will have to overcome fierce opposition from neighbouring countries who fear that the scheme could endanger the lives and livelihoods of millions of their people. Critics say that those living downstream would be at the mercy of Chinese dam officials who would be able to flood them or withhold their water supply. International opposition may bar Beijing from World Bank loans for the project and prevent it from listing bonds and shares on world markets to fund the scheme. If, as its experts believe, China has to use nuclear materials in order to blast the proposed 10-mile tunnel, the country will attract international opprobrium for breaching the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. Nuclear devices have been used in the past by Russia for engineering schemes, but the United States has rejected their use for civil projects on safety grounds. Last week, China’s state-run media reported that the project would form part of a national strategy to divert water from rivers in the south and west to drought-stricken northern areas.