“The generation department has sought Rs 500 million for the import from Wartsila alone. The procurement process is going on for which we are in touch with the Wartsila office in India,” Mahesh Acharya, the Project Coordinator of the Power Development Project (PDP) of NEA, told myrepublica.com.
In this connection, the representatives of the Finnish company paid a visit to the capital some two weeks back. According to Acharya, they have said all repair work would be completed in five months time. It will take three months to bring the spare parts from Finland.
“We are only waiting for the NEA Board to take a decision on this matter as Wartsila is ready to start the process any time now,” Acharya added.
The Biratnagar power plant, which has faced technical problems due to poor maintenance, has the capacity to generate 39 MW, but is currently generating only half of its original capacity as majority of the plant´s parts are now defunct. NEA engineers have said that if the parts are not repaired at the earliest the machines will become obsolete. More importantly, if the work is not undertaken soon it will not be helpful to reduce the load-shedding burden coming winter.
“If we are unable to repair it within five months, then the whole purpose is defeated as we need more power upcoming winter,” Chhatra Bahadur Bajracharya, the general manager of the generation department said. He, however, added, “Since the World Bank is ready to fund the project, there should be no further delay.”
However, NEA officials have expression dissatisfaction over the estimated figure for the procurement and have suspected possible embezzlement during the purchase. “Rs 500 million is an inflated price and the generation department has given no break-down of the amount,” a high-level NEA official said on condition of anonymity. The source added that some officials are “pressing for tender” for import of spare parts.
Asked to comment, Acharya said that since it will be “single-source procurement,” no tender is required. “We are still negotiating with Wartsila,” Acharya said. Moreover, the officials have dismissed all possibilities of importing the parts from India as well. “The parts are not available in India, so there is no question about importing from that country,” Dandapani Basyal, the spokesperson of NEA said.
World Bank approved US$73 million additional funding some three months back for the PDP, which include loan for the thermal plants repairing for both Hetauda and Biratnagar. Under the PDP fund, NEA would undertake an overall rehabilitation work in a more appropriate sequence and bring costs savings. Besides maintenance and repair of the thermal plants, other components include rehabilitation of Kali Gandaki, Pathlaiya 132 KV Substation Project and distribution lines in Kathmandu Valley, construction of transmission lines, etc.
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