Oct 5, 2016- China Gezhouba Group Corporation (CGGC), the civil contractor for the Chameliya Hydroelectric Project, has finalised the work schedule and set the completion date for September 2017.
Yuan Zhixiong, country representative of CGGC, told the Post that the construction of the 30 MW hydro project located in Darchula district in western Nepal would be completed within a year.
“We have already resumed the construction work,” said Zhixiong. “The project is progressing on a war footing, and the construction will be finished by September 2017.”
The owner of the project, Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), confirmed that it had received the work schedule from the contractor. “We have received the schedule from CGGC. They have pledged to complete the civil works by the end of September 2017,” said Ajay Kumar Dahal, project chief of Chameliya. “We have forwarded the schedule to the Energy Ministry.” Once the civil works are completed, testing and commissioning of the power plant will begin, and it will take another 70 days, he added. According to Dahal, the project will start generating electricity by December 2017 if it doesn’t run into any snags.
Energy Minister Janardan Sharma had directed the contractor to finish the construction of the project by July 2017, but CGGC has set the completion date for September 2017 in the work schedule.
Sharma had directed the contractor and the consultant to resume work immediately and complete the construction by the end of the fiscal year during a meeting at the ministry on September 22.
Highly placed sources at the NEA said that it would be impossible to meet the deadline given by the minister. “The work schedule presented by CGGC is practical and achievable,” said the source. “Now, we should make sure the contractor sticks to the timetable and completes the job on time.” Project Chief Dahal said the NEA would be monitoring the contractor’s performance on a daily basis and try to advance the completion date.
No construction work has been done at the project since May 2014 after the government refused to make an additional payment of Rs1.09 billion as demanded by the contractor for budget variance occurring due to the squeezing of the tunnel.
Source : The Kathmandu Post
