MYAGDI: The 40-megawatt Rahughat Hydropower Project, promoted by Raghuganga Hydropower Ltd., a subsidiary of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), has failed to meet its second extended completion deadline.
The Indian contractor Jayaprakash Associates (JP) had signed a Rs 6 billion contract on November 17, 2017, with an initial target to complete the project in 45 months.
After the first deadline passed, a second extension was granted in February 2022, which is now set to expire on June 27. Yet, the project remains incomplete.
So far, the project has achieved 79.5 percent physical progress and 75 percent financial progress. The contractor has now proposed extending the deadline to December 31, 2025.
Rahughat Project Manager Raj Bista informed that the consulting firm Wakfos is currently reviewing the extension request.
Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), responsible for the electromechanical works under a US$ 12.93 million contract signed in Kartik 2076 BS, has also failed to import and install the power house equipment as planned.
The project is being executed under the Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) model with a concessional loan of US$ 67 million from the Export-Import Bank of India, and joint funding from the NEA and the Government of Nepal.
Concerns have grown over the prolonged delays. The Government of India, Nepal’s Ministry of Energy, and the NEA have expressed renewed interest in pushing the project forward.
On Jestha 17, Indian Ambassador to Nepal Naveen Srivastava, Energy Secretary Suresh Acharya, and NEA Executive Director Hitendra Dev Shakya visited the project site for monitoring.
During the visit, JP’s manager Harish Agrawal and BHEL’s representative Harsh Bardan formally proposed extending the deadline, citing delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, floods, landslides, and scarcity of riverbed construction materials.
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