MYAGDI: The civil contract deadline for the 40-megawatt capacity Rahughat Hydropower Project under construction in Myagdi, promoted by Raghuganga Hydropower, a subsidiary of the Nepal Electricity Authority, has been extended for the third time. Rahughat is a much-awaited project in Myagdi.

Indian civil contractor Jaiprakash Associates (JP) had signed a contract worth Rs 6 billion on November 17, 2017 (Mansir 6, 2074) with a target of completion in 45 months. The deadline, which was extended for the first time in February 2022 and the second time in February 2022, expired on June 27.

Ganesh KC, Managing Director of Raghuganga Hydropower, said that the contract with the civil contractor of Rahughat, which has made 90 percent physical progress so far, has been extended for the third time until November 27, 2025.

“The contractor had proposed an extension until December 31, 2025,” he said, “but the deadline has been extended by only four months as per the recommendation of the consultant ‘Wakfos’.” The contractor has cited the COVID-19 pandemic, natural disasters such as floods and landslides, and the shortage of river-borne construction materials as reasons for the delay in the project construction.

During the rainy season, the Bugl landslide blocked the road connecting the dam site and the construction work was affected when floods piled up silt near the dam under construction. The Supreme Court had banned the extraction of stone, gravel and sand from the Kaligandaki River for three years.

Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), which signed an electromechanical contract worth 12.93 million US dollars in Kartik 2076 BS, has also not been able to complete the import and installation of power house equipment as per the target. The contract with BHEL expires on December 31.

Chief of the Rahughat Hydropower Project, Raju Bista, said that they are coordinating, facilitating and urging the civil and electromechanical contractors to work in a coordinated manner. He said that if the contractors work according to the work plan, the construction of Rahughat will be completed by December.

Bista said that the work plan completed earlier on Ashad 15 failed due to the contractors’ delay. The construction of the dam at the foot of Raghuganga Rural Municipality-4, Dagnam and Ward No. 5, Jhin, a 6-kilometer, 270-meter-long main tunnel, and a power house at Tilkenichauar have been 90 percent completed.

The Rahughat Hydropower Project has been implemented under the company’s concept and Engineering Procurement and Contract (EPC) model with a concessional loan of US$ 67 million from the Export-Import Bank of India and a joint investment of the Nepal Electricity Authority and the Government of Nepal.

Due to poor financial conditions, the contract with the old contractor IVRCL was terminated in 2072 and construction was moved forward through a new process. The last selected civil contractor, Jayaprakash Associates (JP), began digging the access road in Ashar 2075 and the tunnel in Ashar 2076.

The project had signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) in Chaitra 2075 with a target of generating 245 million 93 thousand 34 units of electricity annually.

The electricity generated from Rahughat will be connected to the central grid through the 220 kV (double circuit) Dana-Kushma transmission line under the Kaligandaki corridor through Lilo. Four towers and transmission lines have also been constructed.