Melamchi water unlikely to reach Kathmandu by mid-April 2016

SINDHUPALCHOWK, Nov 24:

The chances of Melamchi water reaching Kathmandu´s distribution system by mid-April appear slim as Melamchi Water Supply Development Board (MWSDB) is not satisfied with work performance of Italian contractor Cooperativa Muratori e Cementisti di Ravenna (CMC).

When CMC was awarded the tender, its officials had said they would complete tunnel digging works six months ahead of the schedule. But the company has not met its target of digging 8 km in a year. It managed to dig only 3.3 km in its first year.

As per the contractor´s work schedule, MWSDB had earlier estimated that it would be able to distribute Melamchi water in Kathmandu by mid-April.

"The contractor has failed to meet the deadline that it had proposed last year," Ghanashyam Bhattarai, executive director of MWSDB, told Republica. “With this work pace, Melamchi water won´t reach Kathmandu´s distribution system by mid-April 2016,” he added.

Bhattarai also said MWSDB was not satisfied with the works of the contractor.

The contract with CMC is valid till mid-October 2016.

Following its failure to complete works as stated in its work plan, CMS is now piling pressure on the concerned government agencies to extend the contract. Despite agreeing to complete the work in 1,016 days, the contractor is pushing for term extension by another 800 days.

MWSDB, however, is in no mood of extending contract deadline. Though there is a provision in the contract that states deadline can be extended if the situation goes out of control, the board has concluded that there was no such situation.

Bhattarai said it is still possible to distribute Melamchi water in the Kathmandu Valley as per the schedule if CMC improved its working style.

CMC was awarded the contract after China Railway 15 Bureau Group Corporation left the project midway after completing 6.5-km tunnel in three and half years. It had agreed to complete digging of 26.5-km tunnel in five years.

The Italian contractor was awarded the contract in mid-July last year to dig the remaining 20 km within 36 months. In its work plan, CMC had expressed commitment to complete tunnel digging works within 30 months.

The much-hyped drinking water project, which will supply 170 million liters of water on a daily basis, was expected to be completed seven years ago. The government had first said it would complete the project in 2007.

Source: Republica