Melamchi Water Supply Project channels Melamchi water towards Kathmandu

Water supply to Kathmandu Valley expected to resume from January 15

The eagerly anticipated water supply from the Melamchi Water Supply Project which had been blocked due to floods and landslides in 2021 is set to resume in Kathmandu from January 15.

The transfer of Melamchi water to Kathmandu has already commenced from Wednesday evening following necessary repairs in the affected area.

The saga of the Melamchi project, which was hailed as a beacon of hope for solving the water crisis that long plagued the Kathmandu Valley, spans three decades, punctuated by intermittent progress and sustained setbacks, ranging from pauses triggered by natural calamities to local opposition.

Despite facing setbacks and the vulnerability of the headworks area to floods and landslides, the project is now poised to fulfill its ultimate purpose of satiating the valley's long-standing thirst.

Matthaus Rest's paper on the Melamchi project reveals that in 1972, a comprehensive water supply potential study identified 30 potential schemes to address Kathmandu's drinking water needs. Following extensive deliberations, the Melamchi option was selected among various alternatives in the early 1980s, despite other choices presenting significantly fewer engineering challenges.

The promise to address Kathmandu's water needs is finally going to be fulfilled. Padma Bahadur Kunwar, senior divisional engineer of Melamchi Water Supply Development Board, said that water has been diverted to Kathmandu since Wednesday evening as per the agreement between Melamchi Water Supply Development Board and the construction company Sinohydro on 19th December to bring Melamchi river’s water to Kathmandu within 28 days.

He said, "The water of Melamchi has been diverted to Kathmandu in response to the demand of the builders. Since there is half of the water in the 27 km long tunnel, the water from the Melamchi river will reach the water treatment center at Sundarijal in Kathmandu in the next four days." It is reported that Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited (KUKL) is preparing to distribute water from Melamchi to Kathmandu valley residents from January 15.

Zakki Ahmed Ansari, project director of Melamchi Water Supply Development Board, said that the project will supply 170 million liters of water to Kathmandu on a daily basis. Senior Divisional Engineer Kunwar said that the project has repaired Gate No 21, Gate No 9 and Gate No 1 at the source of the river in Ambathan and started sending water to Kathmandu from Wednesday evening.

According to him, the contractors mobilized more than 45 workers and necessary machines daily to rebuild the structures damaged by the flood. Water Supply Minister Mahindra Raya Yadav had earlier announced that Melamchi water will be brought to Kathmandu by the end of December. Minister Yadav also carried out on-site monitoring three times to bring water from Melamchi to Kathmandu immediately.

Melamchi Water Supply Project spokesperson Rajendra Pant said that water has been released to the tunnel from the site of the dam to clean the tunnel.

According to him, the turbid water being cleaned from the tunnel will be extracted through the audit tunnels in Ambathan, Gyalthum, and Sundarijal.

He said that once the water sent to the tunnel becomes clear, it will be directed to Kathmandu in its entirety.

However, he said that determining the exact duration for cleaning the tunnel and establishing a regular water supply schedule is currently not feasible.

Minister Yadav's personal secretary Tanka Dhamala said that Water Supply Secretary Suresh Acharya and Melamchi Water Supply Development Board's project director Ansari are actively working to resume the water supply to Kathmandu that had come to a halt due to floods.

Melamchi's journey: 30 years to quench Kathmandu's thirst

1998

Preparation for Melamchi began when the ADB published its first detailed report for a technical assistance loan and pledged to co-fund the water diversion scheme.

Establishment of the MWSP, initiating the collection of necessary funds.

2000

Project cost was estimated at US$ 464 million, inclusive of contingencies and taxes at the 2000 price level.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved Loan 1820-NEP (SF) on December 21, effective from November 28, 2001.

2002

The World Bank withdrew due to a failure in appointing foreign private operators for water supply management.

2005

The Norwegian Agency for International Cooperation (NORAD) withdrew for the same reason.

2006

The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) also withdrew, resulting in a $133 million deficit in the original cost.

The government convinced ADB to cover the deficit.

Political upheaval, including the Maoist insurgency, delayed project completion.

Severn Trent International was appointed to manage water supply.

2007

Severn Trent International's contract was terminated in August due to poor performance and a lack of transparency.

MWSP was split into two sub-projects: Melamchi River Water Diversion (Subproject-1) and Kathmandu Valley Water Supply (Subproject-2).

2008

KUKL was appointed to manage water supply in February.

The total project cost was reduced to $317.3 million; the loan was extended till June 2013.

The Chinese Railway Bureau Group was awarded the project contract after restructuring.

2009

The Chinese Railway Bureau Group was awarded the project contract.

Local groups padlocked MWSP's office in July, unlocked in January 2010.

Construction of the tunnel was initiated in August.

2012

The Melamchi tunnel contract was canceled in September, causing project financing and implementation delays.

The contract with the Chinese Railway Bureau Group was terminated due to unsatisfactory performance.

The contract was put up for re-bid after ADB financed an additional $25 million.

2013

Cooperativa Muratori e Cementisti di Ravenna (CMC) of Italy won the bid for Rs 8.7 billion on June 21.

The deadline was extended to September 30, 2016.

The loan expired in December, and the tunnels were yet to be constructed.

2015

A massive earthquake in April further delayed project completion.

2016

Around 20.6 km of the tunnel was completed in October.

2017

The deadline for project completion was pushed back in September.

2018

Tunnel work of 3,600 meters was completed; 90% of tunnel construction was finished.

The installation of 684 km out of 720 km of pipelines was completed in the Kathmandu valley.

The deadline was extended to mid-February 2019.

2019

Contractor CMC broke the contract with the government over payment issues.

2020

Two MWSP staff were swept away and died during testing, causing flooding.

The deadline was revised to April 15, 2021, in October.

2021

Water was released in the main tunnel on February 22.

Melamchi water reached Kathmandu's treatment plant on March 6 after numerous delays, completing a two-decade-long wait.

The flood that fell from Bremathan on the source of the Melamchi river in June damaged the water supply project structure along with the headworks.

The water supply was temporarily shut off.

2022

The project planned 170 million liters of daily water supply to Kathmandu.

Rs 31.11 billion was spent on the project so far

Temporary structures were made to bring water to the capital.

2023

Government revived the Melamchi Water Supply Development Board following people’s protest demanding water supply.

The process of diverting the water of the Melamchi River started.

2024

Repair work of the project completed.