Only 7% physical progress achieved

The construction of the dam of the Sunkoshi Marin Diversion Multipurpose Project (SMDMP) is progressing at a sluggish pace. Although 42 percent of the project’s construction period has elapsed, the work progress is less than 10 percent.

The construction company has struggled to advance the work, blaming the damage caused by floods in mid-September. The project has cited the flood as a major obstacle to its progress. While tunnel construction for the national pride project is in its final stage, dam construction on the Sunkoshi River is moving at a very slow pace.

On January 25, 2023, the Patel-Raman JV signed a contract to construct a dam on the Sunkoshi River, aiming to complete the work within four and a half years. The project deadline has been fixed on August 1, 2027. However, the project has made only about 7 percent progress so far. Badri Karki, the project director of the SMDMP, said that 42 percent of the contract period has already passed. By this point, the project should have completed about 30-35 percent of the work, but only 7 percent progress has been achieved. The work completed so far consists mainly of temporary structures, with no progress on permanent structures.

The Patel-Raman JV signed a contract to construct the dam at a cost of Rs 14.76 billion. While the joint venture company holds the contract, locals report that only Raman Construction is working at the site. The contract aims to build a 30-meter-high, 158-meter-long dam on the Sunkoshi River, through which water will flow to the Marin stream in Kamalamai Municipality-2, Kusumtar, via a 13.3-kilometer-long tunnel. The project plans to generate 31.07 megawatts of electricity by releasing water through a 66.29-meter head via the tunnel.

Karki, the project director, said that the flood in mid-September has halted progress, and currently they are clearing the debris. The project has not yet started the permanent structure work for the dam on the Sunkoshi River.

China Overseas Engineering Company (COVEC) has completed the 13.3-kilometer-long tunnel to divert water from the Sunkoshi River to the Marin stream, achieving 97 percent progress after the "breakthrough."

Raman Construction, responsible for the dam construction, said the flood caused significant damage to the project and hindered progress. Pawan Mahto, the director of Raman Construction, explained that although the cover dam survived, the flood swept away physical structures such as crushers, plants, gravel, sand, and generators, forcing the company to start from scratch. He attributed the delay to this setback.

"By now, the work should have progressed significantly, as almost half the time has passed, but we have only completed about 9 percent of the work. No further progress has been made," he said.

The first phase of the SMDMP involves completing tunnel construction, which is in its final stages. The second phase focuses on building structures such as the dam, powerhouse, and water intake. As the dam construction is progressing slowly, locals doubt that the project will finish on time. The third phase will focus on building structures for electricity generation, and the fourth phase aims to transport the generated electricity to Nawalpur in Sarlahi and connect it to the national transmission line. The project's initial cost was estimated to be about Rs 46 billion, but it has now increased to Rs 49.42 billion.

Once the dam under construction in Ward-7 of Sunkoshi Rural Municipality is completed, the project will release 67 cubic feet of water per second through a tunnel to the Marin stream in Kusumtar, Kamalamai Municipality-2, for electricity generation. The project will also divert water from the Sunkoshi River to the Bagmati River via the Marin River, providing irrigation to 122,000 hectares of land across Bara, Parsa, Rautahat, Sarlahi, Mahottari, and Dhanusha districts. The government aims to complete the project by the fiscal year 2027/28, with construction having started in the fiscal year 2020/21.

By Anil Bhandari