China’s Lianghekou Hydropower Station on the Yalong River in Sichuan Province has won the 2026 FIDIC Project of the Year award in the Megaproject category, becoming the only hydropower project among this year’s award recipients.
Located in Yajiang county in the Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture the 3,000 megawatt facility is a major regulating reservoir in the cascade development of the Yalong River. Construction began in 2014 and the project passed completion acceptance in 2024.
The station features a 303-metre high gravel soil core rockfill dam, which has been certified by Guinness World Records as the world’s highest rockfill dam.
Built at an average elevation of about 3,000 metres, the project faced difficult construction conditions, including seasonally frozen ground, steep terrain and high in-situ stress around the underground powerhouse. Construction teams had only about 200 effective working days each year because of the high altitude climate.
According to PowerChina Chengdu Engineering Corporation, the project overcame challenges involving construction of the ultra high rockfill dam, winter operations and the development of high head, high velocity flood discharge systems. The project reportedly set 11 world records and incorporated intelligent technologies throughout construction.
The hydropower station generates approximately 11 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually. Its reservoir also allows water to be stored during wetter periods and released during drier periods supporting electricity generation across the wider Yalong River basin.
PowerChina estimates that the project can increase power generation across the basin by about 34.1 billion kilowatt hours during normal and dry water periods and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 21.3 million tonnes.
The project has also contributed to local infrastructure development. About 18% of its total investment was directed toward infrastructure improvements including approximately 500 kilometres of roads and six new towns. Construction activities generated more than 20,000 jobs annually, according to PowerChina.
Lianghekou is being developed alongside projects including the Kela photovoltaic power station and the Lianghekou Hybrid Pumped Storage project. Together these facilities are part of a broader multi energy development integrating hydropower, solar and wind power, hydrogen, energy storage and computing infrastructure.
The 2026 FIDIC Global Infrastructure Conference was held in New Delhi under the theme “Engineering a Bright Future, Together: Quality Infrastructure for People and Prosperity.” Thirteen infrastructure projects from 11 countries received winner or highly commended awards across different categories.
FIDIC’s official award listing names the Lianghekou project team as Yalong River Hydropower Development Company, PowerChina Chengdu Engineering Corporation and China International Engineering Consulting Corporation.