Civil Insight: A Technical Magazine Volume 2 | Page 61

CIVIL INSIGHT 2018 Another challenge then was the lack of public and even government confi dence in private hydropower sector. There was a fi xed Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for small hydropower with capacity up to 5 MW. There were no predefi ned proceedings and many logistical aspects were uncertain. We could be considered pioneers for private hydropower in Nepal. We were learning by doing while cooperating with the government. There have been shortages of human resource, and construction and consultation companies too. To this day construction and consultation companies are not enough but the problem is not as severe as they used to be. The lack of funding has limited fi eld studies. In 2071 B.S at Jure,a huge landslide occurred that could have been predicted if we had enough funding. These were some typical problems we faced and still face. There was also the problem of interest rates and fi nances. The interest rate fl uctuated which led to volatility and unstable rates of return. PPA required longer time then; to acquire a PPA it could take a company a year or more. However, the paper work has now picked up pace and roughly 3000 MW of project is under construction. If we look back to 20 years ago, the state of hydropower in Nepal then and compare it to today’s prospects, we must say that Nepal’s hydropower sector has grown exponentially. The scale of projects has grown and continues to grow. The exponential growth in hydropower, however, does not preclude challenges. Currently we face unforeseen technical challenges like natural disasters; earthquakes and fl oods have taught us valuable lessons. As the capacity of project increases, the challenges also increase. The large scale of projects, huge costs and tiny error margins has decreased the overall risk bearing capacity of hydropower projects. Time also imposes a daunting challenge upon us, if we fail to fi nish a project within time our interest rates shoot up and with it the costs are compounded. Another issue is the huge capital requirement for mega projects. Everything must be completed within a specifi ed period; however, administrative ineffi ciency is a major hindrance in doing so. As I mentioned before, the lack of government authority distribution and no clear boundary of rights of bodies of government also poses a challenge. Nevertheless, we expect the government to fully understand our problem and provide the right platform for our sector’s growth. INTERVIEW 61 Q. What are the challenges from local people while implementing hydropower projects? How much co-operation is there among the locals? In the beginning, we faced a lot of problems and arguments from the locals due to the lack of information about hydropower. We have faced different sets of problems in Ramechhap and Ilam. But now, it has become easier since almost everyone is aware of the benefi ts and disadvantages of hydropower. Nonetheless, the relationship is mutual; if we as an outsider listen to their qualms and curiosities, they fully cooperate with us. However, I believe we have a social responsibility towards the local people. We educate people about hydropower and disseminate information as they are. We also provide solution or measures of mitigation of the problems caused by our hydropower projects. Similarly, we provide employment to the local people. This ensures cooperation, I believe. Q. What according to you are the major reasons why the hydropower projects in Nepal don’t see completion or suddenly stop in the middle of construction? Few factors delay the completion of projects. One is natural disaster: they are unpredictable and do lots of damage on their wake. Take Upper Tamakoshi for example; the 2015 earthquake ruined its structure and hence was delayed. However, the earthquake was not the sole reason for its delay. It was embroiled in share distribution issues. The labor force wanted some of its equity and they protested which halted construction. In majority of projects, delays occur for land acquisition and its reimbursement. Some of the projects fall victim to corruption rampant throughout the nation. Misunderstanding among various stakeholders is another cause for a mid- construction stop. These types of problems are inevitable, so one must not panic but keep a calm mind and analyze the problem and come up with a good solution. Delay of a project increases its cost and subsequently its risk of commercial failure. To stop these mishaps and ensure smooth construction of hydropower, I believe security should be provided at construction sites. Q. Do you still believe that there is a lack of hydropower in Nepal?