Risk analysis is essential throughout the project cycle, from construction initiation to operations management. There should not be political disputes, inter-provincial conflicts, and local conflicts regarding the issue of achieving prosperity through the use of water resources available in the country.
With the long-term vision of becoming a prosperous nation by the year 2033, the development agenda was set with a focus on good governance, development, and prosperity. Accordingly, the Fifteenth Plan was considered a foundational plan to achieve the long-term vision of ‘Prosperous Nepal, Happy Nepali,’ which was also continued in the Sixteenth Plan.
Although the increase in hydropower production and the promotion of the green economy were identified as key drivers of transformation, the overall utilization, development, and management of water resources were not given priority.
Although Nepal is said to have around 225 billion cubic meters of water available annually, only about 10 percent of it has been utilized. While there appears to have been some progress in hydropower development, only around 3,100 megawatts of hydropower have been generated so far, and no other reservoir-based project has been constructed since the Kulekhani project in 1982.
Relying solely on run-of-river projects has made managing electricity demand challenging. Of the total 2.536 million hectares of arable land in the country, year-round irrigation facilities have not been achieved. Water resource projects have not been developed to control floods and achieve multipurpose benefits. Some multipurpose water resource projects are under construction, while others are still in the study phase. Such projects require a long time for feasibility studies, detailed assessments, and environmental studies. The procurement and construction processes are complex, contract management is challenging, significant resources are needed, and appropriate policies and laws are required. As a result, progress has not been as swift as envisioned.
To achieve sustainable and reliable economic development in Nepal, there seems to be no alternative but to prioritize and advance the development of multipurpose projects for the multidimensional utilization of available water resources.
Among the multi-purpose projects identified and prioritized by the irrigation master plan, Bheri-Babai diversion and Sunkoshi-Marin diversion are under construction. Naumure, Tamor-Chisyang, Sunkoshi-Tawa (Kamala), Kaligandaki-Tinau and Madi-Dang diversions are under study. There are reservoir projects like Paschim Seti, Budhigandaki, Nalgarh, Tamor for hydropower. In addition, there are Pancheshwar and Saptakoshi multi-purpose projects located on the Nepal-India border river or planned to be built in a joint concept. These projects have been moved forward, but there is no common understanding among the related parties about when to start and when to complete, in which modality to develop and operate and how to achieve multifaceted benefits from these projects. Therefore, projects that have already been invested heavily are stalled.
Detailed project report (DPR) preparation study of multi-purpose water resources project is done to analyze various technical aspects and alternatives and environmental impact assessment. If the study and preparation work of the project is not done properly, the design may change during the construction, there will be variations, there will be difficulties in contract management, the cost will increase, the construction period will be delayed and the project itself may have to be abandoned. Apart from this, according to the nature of the project, the preparation of the environmental impact assessment report should be done in accordance with the provisions mentioned in the Environmental Protection Act 2020 and the Environmental Protection Regulations 2021. Different components of physical, biological, socio-economic and cultural environment existing in the project area should be identified. The environmental issues should be addressed by evaluating them and analyzing the impact of the project in detail, and the solution measures. The environmental impact assessment report should be recommended by the concerned ministry and approved by the Ministry of Forestry and Environment. While preparing such reports, various problems may arise due to superficial studies, not doing environmental studies, not enough interaction, not informing stakeholders, and haste in construction.
There may be complications in the construction of large infrastructures of water resources when structures have to be built in tunnels and rivers. Documents are prepared in accordance with international conventions governing contracts. However, there is an obligation to comply with the ‘standard bidding documents’ prepared within the framework of Nepal’s procurement law. Apart from that, contract management has become complicated due to the political, social environment and the role of regulatory bodies at the local level. In such a situation, technical and institutional capacity development is an important part to complete big projects on time. For the first time successful use of Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) by Nepali people for 12.2 km long tunnel with 4.2 meter diameter of Bheri-Babai Diversion Project by Department of Water Resources and Irrigation. Construction of 13.3 km tunnel with 5.5 meter diameter in Sunkoshi-Marin Diversion project was also completed by TBM. It is an achievement to complete Sunkoshi-Marin at around 10 billion while it cost about 9.5 billion in Bheri-Babai.
Planning to use TBM in other projects should be seen as a technical success. Therefore, in addition to providing encouragement to the technical manpower for large-scale infrastructure development, emphasis should also be placed on enhancing institutional capacity.
Investment management in large water resources projects is challenging. The government’s budget is not enough Because of the project should be prioritized and gradually built. Foreign, private as well as public-private-partnership and other alternative investments should be attracted in such projects. The hydropower component of the multi-purpose project can be segregated and the private sector can be involved. Other components can also be developed by investing in the government. In order to attract the private sector, one can also proceed with the concept of ‘Viability Gap Funding’. From the beginning of the project, it is important to be clear about the investment assurance and operational modality.
With the development of the Rani Jamra-Kularia irrigation project, the 4.7 MW hydropower operation and management modality has not yet been decided. It has not been decided who will operate and manage the 46 megawatts of electricity from the Bheri-Babai diversion project. Therefore, it is important to have clarity in the development, operation and management of projects with reservoirs like Budhigandaki, Nalgarh, Paschim Seti, Tamor developed for hydroelectric power, as well as Pancheshwar and Saptakoshi multi-purpose projects that are ready to be developed under the joint Nepal-India concept. multifaceted use of
water resources projects. There should be infrastructure development, effective management of water in the ‘command area’ of irrigation and effective agricultural programs should be conducted in the irrigated areas. It should be discouraged as the land in the irrigated area can be used for other purposes after the construction of the project with a large investment. If any part of the project is delayed in construction, the cost may increase, so it should be developed in an integrated manner so as to benefit from the project as a whole.
Sunkoshi-Marin Diversion Multipurpose Project was started with the main purpose of providing irrigation to 122,000 hectares of land. However, the construction of irrigation structures has not yet started. Although money has been allocated for the acquisition of land for the Budhigandaki project, the investment management and operational modality are still uncertain. This does not show the investment efficiency of the overall project. Therefore, the risk analysis of the entire project cycle from the beginning of the project planning to the completion of the operation management is essential.
Inter-watershed water transfer multi-purpose projects are the backbone of economic development. It needs the unanimity of political parties, stakeholders should create an environment for easy construction. There should not be political disputes, inter-provincial conflicts and local conflicts regarding the use of water resources available in the country and achieving prosperity. The constitution of Nepal has placed large water resources projects under the jurisdiction of the federal government. The federal government should also develop such projects in the interest of the nation from the point of view of resource/equipment management, adequacy of manpower as well as taking maximum advantage of the available water resources. If such projects are made a subject of provincial disputes, and water distribution is made a provincial battle, then more questions will be raised about the propriety of such provinces.
Multi-purpose projects without understanding the depth should not be the subject of unnecessary debates or political manipulations. Rather, it should be developed in such a way as to create jobs at the local level, have the highest benefits and have the least environmental impact. Benefits to be given to the local people, the local level and the province, the issue of water distribution as well as policy clarity and necessary mechanisms should be arranged to resolve disputes arising during project development.
When studying, building, and managing large water resources projects, all government agencies should have direct/indirect participation. Mainly, the project needs the support of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, National Planning Commission, Finance, Forest/Environment, Home and other local levels and various organizations. Decision-making process of the project and an environment for effective performance in an autonomous manner is necessary. Although we call it a project of national pride, it is necessary to have a special arrangement for such large water resource projects from the perspective of not being different from other projects. From the initial stage of the
project, the debate on budget management, manpower configuration and priorities cannot take the right direction and speed on the basis of political interests rather than its advantages and disadvantages. In addition to this, there is a big challenge to complete the project within the specified time and cost due to the intervention of the political leadership of the Ministry in the preparation of project cost estimate, procurement process, contract management, extension, variation and implementation.
Finally, such multi-purpose projects can prove to be milestones in terms of achieving sustainable development by using available water resources in Nepal itself. On the one hand, the construction of large reservoir projects leads to inundation, land acquisition, rehabilitation and restoration as well as various environmental complications on the upper coast, while there are benefits such as irrigation and flood control on the lower coast. A part of the huge investment required for water resource development should be developed in such a way that the low coastal countries will bear the benefits. For this, political and diplomatic efforts must be sustained. A detailed technical and environmental impact assessment should be carried out in a thorough manner and the project’s technical, economic, social, religious, cultural issues as well as territorial conflicts should be resolved. In this way, if the large water resources projects are completed within the prescribed cost and time, it will be another leap in the country’s journey of prosperity.
Source: Kantipur
