KATHMANDU, MAY 15 -
A field study conducted by the National Planning Commission (NPC) has identified five important projects as being troubled.
The NPC, which normally monitors top priority projects, has singled out
the 14 MW Kulekhani III Hydropower Project, 30 MW Chameliya Hydropower
Project, President Chure Conservation Programme, Mahakali River Control
Programme and Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Surkhet as being projects
in distress. According to the NPC, the budget allotted to Kulekhani III
had not been released even at the end of second trimester of the
current fiscal year. Kulekhani III has been plagued by cost overruns
with its estimated outlay ballooning from Rs 2.43 billion to Rs 4.46
billion. The project is expected to be completed by September 2014.
The contract for its construction was awarded to another company after
the original contractor could not implement it satisfactorily. There has
been no proper coordination between the civil works, mechanical works
and consultants, according to the NPC’s evaluation.
Meanwhile, due to delays in the implementation of the Chameliya
Hydropower Project, the warranty for the equipment used in the
electro-mechanical and hydro-mechanical works and the equipment
purchased for a 132 KW transmission line is expiring.
The Economic Development and Cooperation Fund (EDCF), the South Korean
aid agency which funded the electro-mechanical and hydro-mechanical
works of the project which are being done by a South Korean contractor,
has blamed the poor performance of the Chinese contractor assigned to do
the civil works including digging the tunnel for the delay.
In its assessment report after the field visit, the EDCF said that
delays in the civil works had affected the electromechanical works too.
China Gezhouba Water and Power (Group) Company has been carrying out the
project’s civil construction works.
Meanwhile, the contractor recently complained in a press note that it
faced huge losses as the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) failed to
fulfil its obligations.
According to the NPC report, the consulting firm appointed for the
project failed to make field visits for a long time. The NEA, which has
been developing the project, has also failed to supervise the works,
according to the evaluation report. An 843-metre segment of the
project’s tunnel, which is almost one-fourth of its total length, had to
be reconstructed due to its being squeezed. However, the cost estimate
is yet to be made, according to the NPC.
The 30 MW project, located in Darchula district in far western Nepal,
was originally scheduled to be completed in 2011. The deadline was
postponed to August 2013 and extended again to March 2015 due to its
poor progress. Releasing the budget for Chameliya was also delayed due
to the Finance Ministry’s concern about cost overruns. “This was the
scenario until April, but I have to reconfirm the latest status,” said
Tirtha Dhakal, chief of the monitoring and evaluation department at the
NPC.
Meanwhile, not a single penny of the Rs 400 million budget allocated
for the Mahakali River Control Programme for this year was released
until the end of the second trimester. The Rs 2 billon project has been
divided into 13 packages. “Not a single stone has been moved at the
project site until mid-April,” said Dhakal, adding that there was a risk
that the upcoming monsoon would result in massive flooding in the
region due to lack of progress in the project to control the Mahakali
River.
“The contractor selection process has just begun, and when the
contractor starts work, the monsoon is likely to start and may hinder
the project,” Dhakal said.
The programme was launched after massive flooding last year caused huge
damage to people’s property, particularly in Darchula district. Under
an emergency relief measure, Rs 13.5 million was spent following the
flooding.
Similarly, the President Chure Conservation Programme is another high
priority programme, but the NPC said it had not yet received its
programme document. The programme was initiated in fiscal year 2010-11
to manage the Chure area properly after massive exploitation of the land
for gravel and deforestation posed a huge risk to the entire hill
range.
The NPC said that since there is no programme document, it is not clear
what kind of activities will be initiated in the long and medium terms.
“Although a limited number of activities are being carried out with the
resources allotted annually, they have not been implemented in a
planned way,” stated the NPC’s evaluation report.
In the case of the Mid-Western Regional Hospital, the capacity has been
reduced to 50 beds from the 300 beds in the original master plan. The
hospital’s estimated outlay is Rs 650 million.
Currently, the construction of a one-storey building with a capacity of
27 beds has been completed, and a budget has been allocated for the
remaining 23 beds. But only Rs 69.2 million of the budget has been
spent. “Despite the completion of the 27-bed section, its handover has
not been done and it has not come into operation,” NPC said.
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