KATHMANDU, Aug 15
Electromechanical contractor for Chameliya Hydropower Project, Korea Hydro and Nuclear Project (KHNP) Consortium, has unilaterally breached the contract stating that it has not received payment for claims from the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA). It wrote to Chief of the project Rajendra Manandhar on Thursday to inform about the decision.
“I have only been informed about the breach of contract. I have yet to receive the formal letter,” Manandhar told Karobar over the phone and claimed there is still time to resolve the issue through dialogue. The project faces uncertainty after the decision of KHNC which had threatened to breach the contract two weeks ago stating that it has not received payment for claims in time and NEA had not honored the contract. The decision to breach the contract will come into implementation only after August 30 as the contract allows any party to walk away from the contract only after giving a deadline of two weeks. If the matter is not resolved within the two weeks another contract has to be signed with KHNP. This will delay the project and also raise the cost of construction. Cost of the project, that was originally set to be built at Rs 7 billion, has almost doubled to around Rs 13.90 billion due to the delay.
The Korean company had claimed US$ 13.08 million stating that the project was being delayed due to civil contractor for the project China Gezhouba Group and NEA. The consultant Sammon had recommended NEA to pay US$ 8.5 million for the delay a year ago. KHNP also argues that NEA extended the deadline for the second time without taking consent of the contractor and South Korean EXIM Bank as per sub-clause 8.3 of the contract agreement. NEA has again extended the deadline to 2015 due to delay in civil construction. The deadline was first extended from December, 2011 to August, 2013 due to the delay in civil construction and it has again been extended to 2015 after problems of shrinkage in the tunnel. Though NEA has formed many committees to solve the problems in the project, there has been no decision.
NEA and KHNP had signed agreement in 2009 for hydraulic, eletromechanical, and construction of transmission line and substation. Korean EXIM Bank has provided soft loan of US$ 50 million for the project. KHNP informed that the contract had to be breached as there was no agreement about the payment and second extension of deadline between the two institutions despite repeated dialogue. The Korean company has claimed there have been problems in installation of electromechanical and hydromechanical equipment due to the delay in civil construction and additional expenses had to be incurred for safe storage of the equipment and mobilization of staffers. The project has been delayed due to NEA and its staffers. The project is in such situation as the staffers do not own up the problems and the NEA board is also not acting with responsibility. NEA, meanwhile, has also not submitted the detailed financial report of the project more than a year after the Exim Bank of Korea sought it for additional investment as the project cost rose due to delay.
The estimated cost of the project when it was started was US$ 99.90 million (around Rs 7.19 billion) including civil, eletromechanical, hydromechanical and transmission line construction, land acquisition, and compensation. NEA and China Gezhouba Group had signed contract agreement to start civil construction in January, 2007 and complete it by December, 2011 at a cost of Rs 2.88 billion. Around 843 meters of the project’s tunnel has shrunk and NEA stated that the deadline has been extended as it will take another 300 days to complete that work. Similarly, steel has to be again placed due to problems at the time of concreting the vertical penstock pipe. NEA has increased the project cost by another Rs 1.30 billion due to additional work for the shrunk tunnel after it was adjusted to Rs 12.60 billion due to delay. The 30 MW project will generate 180.40 million units of electricity a year.
Source : Karobar Daily
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बाबुराम खड्का
काठमाडौं, ३१ साउन- नेपाल विद्युत् प्राधिकरणले भुक्तानी नदिएपछि चमेलिया जलविद्युत् आयोजनाको इलेक्ट्रोमेकानिकल ठेकेदार कोरियाली केएचएनपी कन्सोर्टिएमले एकतर्फी ठेक्का तोडेको छ । उसले आयोजना प्रमुख राजेन्द्र मानन्धरलाई बिहीबार पत्राचार गरी यसबारे जानकारी गराएको छ ।
“ठेक्का तोडेको जानकारीमात्र पाएको छु,” मानन्धरले टेलिफोनमा भने, “औपचारिक रूपमा पत्र पाएको छैन ।” उनले वार्ताबाट समस्या समाधान गर्न अझै समय रहेको बताए । केएचएनपीले ठेक्का तोडेपछि आयोजना अन्योलमा परेको छ ।
प्राधिकरणले ठेक्का सम्झौता पालना नगरेको र समयमा भुक्तानी नदिएको जिकिर गर्दै केएचएनपीले २ साताअघि ठेक्का तोड्ने चेतावनी दिएको थियो । सम्झौतामा दुई साता म्याद दिएर ठेक्का तोड्न पाउने व्यवस्था भएकाले भदौ १४ पछि मात्र यो कार्यान्वयनमा आउनेछ । यसबीचमा सहमति हुन नसके फेरि केएचएनपीसँगै नयाँ ठेक्का सम्झौता गर्नुपर्ने हुन्छ । यसले आयोजनाको समय थपिनुका साथै लागत पनि बढ्नेछ । ७ अर्ब रुपैयाँमा सक्ने लक्ष्य लिइएको आयोजनाको लागत दोब्बर बढेर १३ अर्ब रुपैयाँ पुगिसकेको छ ।
प्राधिकरण र सिभिल ठेकेदार चाइना गेजुवा ग्रुप लिमिटेडका कारण आयोजनाको समय थपिँदै गएको भन्दै केएचएनपीले १ करोड ३० लाख ८० हजार डलर दाबी पेस गरेकोमा परामर्शदाता कम्पनी समनले एक वर्षअघि नै प्राधिकरणलाई ८५ लाख डलर भुक्तानीको सिफारिस गरेको थियो ।
समनले सिफारिस गरेको ८५ लाख डलर दिनुपर्ने अडान केएचएनपीको छ । सम्झौताको उपदफा ८.३ विपरीत आफू र एक्जिम बैंकसँग सहमति नलिई प्राधिकरणले पुनः दोस्रो पटक म्याद थपेको उसको जिकिर छ । सिभिल निर्माणमा ढिलाइ हुने भएपछि प्राधिकरणले सन् २०१५ सम्मका लागि पुनः दोस्रोपटक म्याद थप गरिसकेको छ । पहिलोपटक २०११ डिसेम्बरदेखि २०१३ अगस्ट ३१ सम्म म्याद थपिएको थियो । सुरुङ खुम्चेर समस्या आएपछि प्राधिकरणले पुनः २०१५ सम्म म्याद थपेको थियो । आयोजनाको समस्या समाधान गर्न प्राधिकरणले धेरै समिति गठन गरे पनि निर्णय हुन सकेको छैन ।
आयोजनाको हाइड्रोलिक, इलेक्ट्रोमेकानिकल, प्रसारणलाइन र सबस्टेसन निर्माण गर्ने गरी सन् २००९ मा प्राधिकरण र केएचएनपीबीच ठेक्का सम्झौता भएको थियो । यो आयोजनाका लागि कोरियाको एक्जिम बैंकले ५ करोड अमेरिकी डलर सहुलियत कर्जा दिएको छ ।
२ संस्थाबीच भुक्तानी र दोस्रोपटक समय थपका विषयमा पटक–पटक वार्ता भए पनि सहमति नभएकाले ठेक्का तोड्नु परेको केएचएनपीले जानकारी गराएको छ । सिभिल निर्माण ढिलाइले इलेक्ट्रोमेकानिकल, हाइड्रोमेकानिकल उपकरण समयमा जडान गर्न नसकिएको र कतिपय उपकरणको सुरक्षित भण्डारण र कर्मचारी परिचालन गर्दा थप खर्च भएको उसको दाबी छ ।
प्राधिकरण र चाइना गेजुवाका कारण आयोजनामा ढिलाइ भएको हो । समस्या आएपछि कर्मचारीले अपनत्व नलिने र सञ्चालक समिति पनि जिम्मेवार नहुनुले आयोजना यस्तो अवस्थामा पुगेको हो ।
एक्जिम बैंकले आयोजनाको काम ढिलाइ भएर लागत बढेपछि थप लगानीका लागि विस्तृत योजना माग गरेको एक वर्ष बितिसक्दा पनि प्राधिकरणले उपलब्ध गराएको छैन ।
आयोजना सुरु हुँदा सिभिल, इलेक्ट्रोमेकानिकल, हाइड्रोमेकानिकल र प्रसारणलाइन निर्माण, जग्गा अधिग्रहण र मुआब्जा गरी ७ अर्ब १९ करोड २८ लाख रुपैयाँ (९ करोड ९९ लाख अमेरिकी डलर) अनुमानित लागत निर्धारण गरिएको थियो । सन् २०११ डिसेम्बरसम्म २ अर्ब ८८ करोड रुपैयाँमा सिभिल निर्माण सम्पन्न गर्नेगरी प्राधिकरण र चाइना गेजुवाबीच सन् २००७ जनवरीदेखि ठेक्का सम्झौता भएको थियो ।
आयोजनाको सुरुङ झन्डै ८ सय ४३ मिटर खुम्चिएको छ । यो काम सक्न अझै ३ सय दिन लाग्ने देखिएकाले समय थप्न प्रस्ताव गरिएको प्राधिकरणले बताएको छ । त्यस्तै, आयोजनाको भर्र्टिकल पेनस्टक पाइपमा ढलान गर्दा समस्या आएपछि फेरि स्टिल राख्नुपर्ने भएको छ । समय बढेपछि आयोजनाको लागत बढेर १२ अर्ब ६० करोड निर्धारण गरिएकोमा सुरुङ खुम्चेर थप काम गर्नुपर्ने अवस्था आएपछि प्राधिकरणले १ अर्ब ३० करोड रुपैयाँ थपेको छ । ३० मेगावाट जडित क्षमताको यो आयोजनाबाट वार्षिक १८ करोड ४ लाख युनिट बिजुली उत्पादन हुनेछ ।
