By early 2019, work had stalled on both of the two major dam projects in the Assam region, the Dibang and the Lower Subansiri.

The reservoir created by the dam will have a gross storage capacity of 1.37 km3 (1,110,677 acre⋅ft), of which .44 km3 (356,714 acre⋅ft) can be used for power generation or irrigation.

The design of the dam has undergone drastic and repeated revisions that have affected the schedule and planning of the construction work.

[6] In December 2003 the contract to build the dam and its associated structures was awarded to a consortium of Boguchandgesstroy, Soyuzgidrosptsstry and Soma Enterprise Ltd. Due to difficulties acquiring land around the site, construction could not begin in earnest until 13 months after the contract was awarded.

Unexpected geological conditions at the dam site led to landslides and slower tunnel excavation.

By November 2007, the river was successfully diverted and in April of the next year, the foundation was clear for construction.

[9] In October 2023, another landslide impacted construction, as part of a hill collapsed into the reservoir, blocking a tunnel and stopping water flowing into the Subansiri river.

The reservoir of the Subansiri Project will submerge a 47 km (29 mi) length of the Subansiri river and occupy 37.5–40 km2 (14.5–15.4 sq mi) which includes Himalayan subtropical pine forests, Himalayan subtropical broadleaf forests, part of the Tale Valley Wildlife Sanctuary, an elephant corridor and some subsistence agriculture fields.