Chameliya set for dry test

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    Jun 1, 2017-

    Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Company, the electro-mechanical and hydro-mechanical contractor for the Chameliya Hydropower Project, will be conducting a dry test of the plant and machinery from Thursday.

    According to the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), the project owner, technicians from the Korean company have reached the project site and are ready to begin tests. The 30 MW Chameliya project is located in the country’s far west.

    During a dry test, electricity is passed through various equipment and the system is checked to find out if any part is malfunctioning. Technicians will start with the first unit where they will check components like the turbine, generator and breakers, the NEA said.

    “After completing tests on the first unit, they will begin work on the second unit,” said Ajay Kumar Dahal, project chief of Chameliya. “They will take just over a month to complete the test.”

    Once the project’s civil works are completed, the Korean company will start conducting a wet test of the plant and machinery.

    Most of the civil works have been completed. Currently, China Gezhouba Group Corporation (CGGC), the civil contractor for the project, is plugging three audit tunnels that were dug while digging a 4-km main tunnel.

    Likewise, it is constructing a 47-metre-long rock trap in the tunnel. A rock trap is a pit built in the tunnel to catch sediment, pebbles and stones in the water so that they do not enter the turbines and damage them.

    Recently, the civil contractor conducted a successful test of the dam and desanding basin by channeling water from the Chameliya River into the dam and desanding basin.

    The Chinese civil contractor for the project, which returned to work in October 2016 after more than two years, has speeded up construction work and has pledged to complete it well before the deadline, according to NEA.

    Construction at the site had been halted since May 2014 after the government refused to make an additional payment of Rs1.09 billion which the contractor had asked for due to cost variance resulting from the squeezing of the tunnel. The contractor agreed to resume work after being summoned to the Energy Ministry and told to do so immediately by Minister Janardan Sharma.

    The NEA also agreed to release a provisional payment of the disputed bill before the issue was resolved in order to maintain a regular cash flow for the project. Once the dispute is settled, the contractor has to return the excess if it has been paid too much, and it will receive additional payment in case of a deficit.

    Source: The Kathmandu Post