Melamchi water by mid-July, announces govt

KATHMANDU, Feb 13: The government has announced to deliver the water from the long-awaited Melamchi Drinking Water Project by mid-July.

Water Supply Minister Bina Magar Thursday, unveiling a white paper on the progress and planning of the project issued by Melamchi Drinking Water Development Board, announced that the water from Melamchi of Sindhupalchowk will arrive in Sundarijal of Kathmandu by the end of the current fiscal year.

“We (the government, the contractor and the associated consultants) are close to completing the project. We are speeding the work with an aim to complete the national pride project by mid-July,” said Minister Magar.

After the Italian contractor, Cooperativa Muratori e Cementisti left the project in December 2018, the government last September had awarded assigned Chinese contractor Sinohydro Corporation Limited to complete the remaining tasks by Oct 2020.

The ministry, in a revised schedule, has set two sets of goals under the project.

According to the ministry, under the goal 1, the works of cofferdam construction and alternative pipe diversion, construction of 14 gates, finishing and rectification of main tunnel, installation of vent shaft, monitoring instruments at adit tunnel, panel board, sensor, wall bushing and cables works, works at Sundarijal portal to processing center and Bagmati river and finally testing and operation of the tunnel will completed before the fiscal year ends.

According to Melamchi Project’s Executive Director Tiresh Prasad Khatri, 97 percent works of the project have been completed.

Khatri said that although it may take some more time to complete the dam, Melamchi water can be brought through an alternative dam before mid-July.

The remaining works of the project which include construction of dam, intake and bridge, finishing and rectification of adit tunnel, installation of monitoring instruments, sensor, panel board, cables, headbox, installation of intake weir and S4 (serpentine sediment sluice system), testing of headworks, and operation of headworks and tunnel will be completed by next fiscal year.