The government has extended the deadline for the construction of this national pride project until 2084/85. However, the delays in the work have raised doubts about the project's completion on time.
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The second and third phases of the Bheri Babai Multipurpose Project, whose first phase (tunnel construction) was completed almost a year ahead of schedule, have been delayed. The project work was halted for almost a month due to Dashain-Tihar and other reasons, and the work has slowed down due to a shortage of technicians and workers at the construction site.
The government has extended the deadline for the construction of the national pride project until 2084/85. But the delay in the work has raised doubts about the completion of the project on time. In the first phase, 300 people worked daily, but only about 75 workers are currently deployed in the project.
'Since skilled workers are required for the work being done now, only workers from outside Karnali are being deployed. Currently, work is being done in three places, in which 25/25 people are working,' said Project Chief Rana Bahadur Bam. 'The work that was stopped due to the festival has started for 2/3 days, now the work is gaining momentum.'
Only 65 percent physical progress has been made in the project so far. According to the project, the tunnel construction work has been completed 100 percent, while civil construction work has made 55 percent, hydromechanical 39 percent, electromechanical 30 percent, and transmission line construction has made 5 percent physical progress, said Project Chief Bam.
But the delay in the second and third phases of the project, which has gained momentum with the first phase, has led to a delay in the work, an engineer said. According to him, the project was estimated to cost Rs 33 billion, but now the cost is estimated to reach around Rs 45 billion.
The project, which was supposed to start in the fiscal year 2068/69, was started only in 2071/072. In the first phase, the China Overseas Engineering Group (COVEG) was given the task of constructing the tunnel by Chaitra 15, 2076. The company completed the approximately 12.2-kilometer-long tunnel before the deadline given to it. The deadline for the project, which was initially set to be completed by 2079/80, has been extended by 5 years. But looking at the current progress, it seems that the work will not be completed within the stipulated time, said Bheriganga Municipality Mayor Yagya Prasad Dhakal.
‘The government has also allocated a budget, but there is not much work pressure at the project site,’ he said, ‘If the project is completed, it will greatly help the development of Karnali, so it is necessary for all parties to work on time.’ According to him, the project construction is being delayed due to the budget not being authorized on time, the dam construction work starting only after the tunnel construction, the Corona epidemic, and the blacklisting of foreign companies working on the project.
Gurbhakot Municipality Mayor Hasta Pun said that he is starting to doubt whether the project will be completed on time. The agreement signed in Asoj 2076 with the Iranian company Mahab Ghods Consulting Engineering (MGCE), which was working as a consultant on the project, was canceled in Magh 2079. This also hindered the project construction work.
Currently, the second and third phases of the project are under construction, including dam and powerhouse construction, hydro-mechanical, electro-mechanical installation and construction. Chief Bam said that the construction of a headbox is currently underway in Chiple, Surkhet. Similarly, he informed that the construction of the foundation, cofferdam, anchor block and other works are also in full swing.
Along with the dam work in Chiple, he said that the foundation of the power house is also being dug in Hattikhal on the Babai side. Raman/Guangdong JV has taken over the responsibility of the second phase of the work. Approximately 1.77 billion rupees has been allocated for the project in the current fiscal year.
The project is being carried out with a plan to build a dam on the Bheri River in Chiple, Bheriganga Municipality, Surkhet, and discharge the Bheri water through a tunnel into the Babai River on the border of Surkhet and Bardiya, and generate about 46 megawatts of electricity. The project aims to provide irrigation facilities to about 51,000 hectares of land in Banke and Bardiya. The project work was affected for almost 2 years due to Corona. Nearly 17 billion rupees have been spent on the project so far. The government plans to connect the electricity generated by the project to the national transmission line. The project chief, Bam, said that the project aims to build a dam in Chiple, Surkhet and discharge 40 cubic meters of Bheri water per second into the Babai River through a tunnel. The construction of a dam is underway in Chiple to discharge Bheri water into the Babai River. A 114-meter-long and 14-meter-high barrage will be built there. During the operation of the project, it is estimated that more than 32 hectares of land in Bheriganga, Gurbhakot and Lekbensi in Surkhet will be submerged. Compensation for about 8 hectares of land has already been distributed. Karnali Province Chief Minister Yamalal Kandel said that the necessary coordination is being done by the provincial government to ensure that the project work is completed on time.
