The closure of Yarlung Zangbo River on Nov 12 marks the beginning of construction of the main project of the Zangmu Hydropower Station, Tibet’s first giant hydropower station, Hunan Daily reported Sunday.

Sinohydro Bureau No 8, a leading company in water conservancy and hydroelectric engineering projects, began damming the river on Nov 8.

The hydropower station, with an investment of 7.9 billion yuan ($1.2 billion) and a total installed capacity of 51 megawatts, is located in the middle reaches of Yarlung Zangbo River, the highest of its kind in the world.

With an abundance of water resources, it is expected to relieve the pressure of electricity supply in the middle part of Tibet.

The first unit of the project is estimated to generate electricity by 2014.