Sinohydro has been contracted to construct the dam, main tunnel and power house but the company, which had claimed that construction materials were pending at the customs and blamed the lengthy process to procure explosives from India, has now attributed the delay in construction to monsoon, according to an officer with UTKHPL.[break]
The officer said the company was to upgrade the road in the first seven months after being awarded the contract in August, start construction of the tunnel to the power house in December and start construction of the main civil infrastructure by April. “The completion of project may now be pushed back by a year due to the delay,” the officer revealed. The government has claimed that it would bring the 456 MW project into operation by 2015.
The construction company and the project had agreed on one percent customs duty on the materials and equipment to be used in construction but the materials remained at Tatopani for a long time after the finance ministry remained adamant on levying the existing rate. Similarly, the company has yet to import explosives from India despite initiating procurement process over five months ago.
Due to the delay in customs clearance of the materials and equipment, the company is now upgrading the Lamabagar-Singati. The UTKHPL is preparing to hand over the road to Singati from Dolakha Bazaar, constructed by other contractors, to the company next week and the company will start civil construction only after upgrading the roads.
The daily peaking run-of-the-river project, which will provide 456 MW electricity for four hours a day even during the dry season, is expected to provide significant relief from power cuts.
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