China plans building a 1,000-kilometer water pipeline from the Tibet to Taklimakan Desert

Almaty. October 31. Silkroadnews - China plans building a 1,000-kilometer water pipeline from the Tibetan plateau to the Taklimakan Desert, Fortune magazine reported.
“China Plans the World’s Longest Water Tunnel to Create an Oasis in the Desert.
"China plans to build the world's longest underground water conduit to create an oasis in the desert. Engineers in China are laying plans for what would be the world’s largest water tunnel at more than 600 miles (1,000 km),” the report said.
The tunnel will connect Tibet with the Taklimakan desert in Xinjiang province and far exceed the length of the longest 85-mile water tunnel around New York.
It is reported that the 621-mile water pipeline will deliver water from the Yarlung Tsangpo River to the barren region of Xinjiang, with the goal of turning the region into a blooming region.
However, there are serious obstacles to the ambitious project, including the objections of neighboring countries. The Yarlung Tsangpo River crosses the border with India and turns into the Brahmaputra River, and then merges with the Ganges in Bangladesh. Besides, there are environmental concerns raised.
“Along with climate change, earthquakes are a concern for environmentalists when it comes to the Tibet-Xinjiang tunnel and the possibility that a temblor could cause a failure in the tunnel and create a flood,” the publication notes.
Reportedly more than 400 billion tonnes of water annually flow from the Tibetan plateau, almost enough to fill Lake Erie in the United States. This water also feeds a number of large rivers, including the Yellow River, Yangtze, Mekong and the Ganges.
At the same time, it is noted that the project will change the landscape of the whole region, but the environmental evaluation of the project has not yet been carried out.
In opinion of Zhang Chuanqing, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, the project won’t start for another 10 years because of the cost and technology.