The contract was awarded to construction contractor Patel-Raman JV. The project issued a public notice on Tuesday explaining why it would not terminate the contract.
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The process of dismantling the Sunkoshi Marine Diversion Multipurpose Project, a national pride, has been moved forward due to lack of progress in the contract for the supply and installation of civil structures including dams, power plants, gates, and hydromechanical equipment.
The contract was taken by the construction contractor Patel-Raman JV. The project issued a public notice on Tuesday explaining why it would not terminate the contract. The project stated that the process of terminating the contract was initiated because the construction progress was only about 10 percent, with about 61 percent of the contract period having expired, the construction contractor had shown no willingness to increase the progress, and even when notices were issued to improve the work as per the provisions of the contract, no interest was shown in it. The project said that the process of terminating the contract was initiated due to lack of progress. Mitra Baral, Director General of the Department of Water Resources and Irrigation, said that the process of terminating the contract was initiated. Along with the process of canceling the contract, the project has also initiated the process of confiscating the bank guarantee of Rs 3.6 billion, including Rs 2.4 billion deposited by Patel-Raman JV as performance security and Rs 1.2 billion as advance payment.
Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Physical Infrastructure and Transport and Urban Development Kulman Ghising had held discussions with the Secretary of the Ministry, Director General of the Irrigation Department, Project Chief, Consultants and Construction Contractors on 7 Asoj after observing an unnatural delay in the construction of the project.
He said that the tunnel construction had been completed but the project was stalled due to the failure to build the dam, power house and other structures, so there was no option but to move forward from a new beginning.
A contract agreement was signed with Patel-Raman JV for the construction of the project for Rs 14.88 billion (including taxes). Patel-Raman JV had quoted an amount about 32 percent less than the estimated cost. The construction contractor had started work from Magh 2079 BS.
The agreement mentioned that the construction work should be completed by Ashar 2084 BS. However, the physical progress so far is only about 10 percent. So far, Rs 2.14 billion (about 15 percent) has been paid. The 13.3-kilometer tunnel of the project was dug using a tunnel boring machine. The tunnel was sunk on April 26, 2081. The water of the Sunkoshi River on the border of Sindhuli and Ramechhap will be dammed and transported to the Khasali Bagmati Irrigation Project on the Marin River through a tunnel. The target is to provide year-round irrigation facilities to a total of 122,000 hectares of land in Dhanusha, Mahottari, Sarlahi, Rautahat and Bara, including the 45,600 hectares of land currently irrigated. The Sunkoshi water will be diverted to the Marin River to generate 31 megawatts of hydroelectric power. The total estimated cost of the project is Rs 49.42 billion.
