China Gezhouba Group Corporation (CGGC), the civil contractor for the 30MW Chameliya Hydroelectric Project, has agreed to resume construction works by September-end.
After a meeting held at the Energy Ministry on Thursday, CGGC, Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) and Shah Consult International, the consultant of the project, signed a “tripartite commitment agreement” to finalise the work schedule and resume the construction works within a week.
The project’s chief Ajay Kumar Dahal, CGGC Project Manager Li Ping and Shah Consult Managing Director Sanjiv Shah signed the agreement. The agreement was reached after Energy Minister Janardan Sharma directed all the parties to resume the works within a week and complete the project by the end of this fiscal year.
“When will you resume the construction work? When will you complete the construction work,” Sharma questioned CGGC representatives present in the meeting. “I want you to complete the construction works within eight to 10 months. I will not extend the project completion date anymore.”
CGGC officials said they will finalise the work schedule after holding talks with the consultant. “We will also deploy our team of experts to coordinate with the consultant to finalise the schedule within seven days,” said Zhou Xianzhong, general manager of CGGC.
Minister Sharma also directed the project chiefs representing both NEA and CGGC to be present at the project site until the project is completed. Both the officials agreed to abide by Sharma’s instruction.
CGGC also agreed to report about construction work progress to the Ministry on a weekly basis as asked by Minister Sharma.
The construction has been halted since May 2014 after the government denied to make an additional payment of Rs1.09 billion as demanded by the contractor for the variance occurred due to the squeezing of the tunnel. The contractor, however, has agreed to start the works after NEA agreed to release the provisional payment of the disputed bill before the issue is resolved.
“In order to maintain a regular cash flow, we have decided to release the provisional payment,” said NEA Managing Director Kulman Ghising. “Once the dispute is settled, the provisional payment has to be refunded in case of excess payment and additional payment has to be made in case of deficit.”
The contractor also proposed to form a committee to resolve the disputed issue by the predetermined time agreed by the Ministry.
Source : The Kathmandu
