The slow progress in the construction of Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower project has escalated the cost of the project to more than double. Initially estimated to be completed at Rs 35 billion, the 456 MW peaking run-of-the-river hydel plant – in Dolakha district – has already cost to over Rs 70 billion by now.
The Upper Tamakoshi project – initiated in 2007 – has gone into construction in 2012, and was supposed to be completed in five years. With the time overrun, the cost overrun has been making the cheapest hydropower project constructed with the domestic funding an expensive one. “Interest payments on long-term loans alone have jumped from Rs 6.7 billion in 2016 to Rs 14.42 billion in two years,” an official at the project said, adding that the total project cost including interest on loans has been estimated at Rs 73 billion as of date. “The annual interest rate has been set at 11 per cent.”
The cost is going to escalate more as the project is likely to miss the deadline – of February 2020 – due to sluggish work. “The installation of the first penstock pipe in the lower vertical shaft of the hydropower plant was supposed to get the project rolling, but works have slowed to a crawl,” the official said. “But the project is likely to miss its deadline of February 2020,” he said, adding that the cost will again escalate with the missing deadline.
Though, the hydropower project has made a breakthrough in June – by fitting of pipes in the lower shaft is considered to be the most challenging part of the hydro-mechanical component – with the help of a team of European, Indian and Nepali engineers, multiple setbacks from machine breakdowns and technical mishaps has forced the power project to postponed the project completion deadline to February 2020.
The hydel plant has reported 98 per cent progress – as civil works of the project has been completed – but the multiple setbacks is again pushing the completion deadline of the project owing to poor work execution by the contractor. “The contractor has only installed 43 metres of pipe out of the 372 metres needed in two months since installation began,” the official added.
The complication in fixing the pipe installation is said could make the hydel project a pipedream, as it could take more than 15 months just to finish installing the remaining penstock pipes in the lower vertical shaft in the current pace of work. “The contractors are trying to speed up the work,” project director Bigyan Shrestha said.
The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has also been continuously directing the contractors – Andritz Hydro of Austria and Texmaco of India – to carry out works in three shifts to complete the work within the new deadline time. After the Indian contractor Texmaco – that is overseeing the hydro-mechanical works – last year admitted that installation of the massive pipes weighing 27 tonnes each was beyond its scope, the NEA had appointed Austrian Company Andritz Hydro to complete the task.
After completion of the Upper Tamakoshi Hydroelectric Project, Nepal will be energy surplus country saving billion in energy import from India. According to Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), Nepal paid India over Rs 22 billion for imported electricity in the last fiscal year.
The Upper Tamakoshi project – initiated in 2007 – has gone into construction in 2012, and was supposed to be completed in five years. With the time overrun, the cost overrun has been making the cheapest hydropower project constructed with the domestic funding an expensive one. “Interest payments on long-term loans alone have jumped from Rs 6.7 billion in 2016 to Rs 14.42 billion in two years,” an official at the project said, adding that the total project cost including interest on loans has been estimated at Rs 73 billion as of date. “The annual interest rate has been set at 11 per cent.”
The cost is going to escalate more as the project is likely to miss the deadline – of February 2020 – due to sluggish work. “The installation of the first penstock pipe in the lower vertical shaft of the hydropower plant was supposed to get the project rolling, but works have slowed to a crawl,” the official said. “But the project is likely to miss its deadline of February 2020,” he said, adding that the cost will again escalate with the missing deadline.
Though, the hydropower project has made a breakthrough in June – by fitting of pipes in the lower shaft is considered to be the most challenging part of the hydro-mechanical component – with the help of a team of European, Indian and Nepali engineers, multiple setbacks from machine breakdowns and technical mishaps has forced the power project to postponed the project completion deadline to February 2020.
The hydel plant has reported 98 per cent progress – as civil works of the project has been completed – but the multiple setbacks is again pushing the completion deadline of the project owing to poor work execution by the contractor. “The contractor has only installed 43 metres of pipe out of the 372 metres needed in two months since installation began,” the official added.
The complication in fixing the pipe installation is said could make the hydel project a pipedream, as it could take more than 15 months just to finish installing the remaining penstock pipes in the lower vertical shaft in the current pace of work. “The contractors are trying to speed up the work,” project director Bigyan Shrestha said.
The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has also been continuously directing the contractors – Andritz Hydro of Austria and Texmaco of India – to carry out works in three shifts to complete the work within the new deadline time. After the Indian contractor Texmaco – that is overseeing the hydro-mechanical works – last year admitted that installation of the massive pipes weighing 27 tonnes each was beyond its scope, the NEA had appointed Austrian Company Andritz Hydro to complete the task.
After completion of the Upper Tamakoshi Hydroelectric Project, Nepal will be energy surplus country saving billion in energy import from India. According to Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), Nepal paid India over Rs 22 billion for imported electricity in the last fiscal year.
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