Project officials said on 11 April that critical remedial works to stabilise the slide area on the right bank of Punatsangchhu, which is the main reason for the delay, would be complete by then.
The hill mass above Wangdue-Tsirang highway tore up 3.5m horizontally and vertically some 10km downstream from the Wangdue bridge in July 2013 and froze all works at the dam construction. The landslide cost the 1,200MW project an additional BTN 3.5bn (USD 50M) and delayed its commissioning by a year.
The project’s managing director, R.N. Khazanchi, said they have two months to fix the critical part of the sliding mass after which they could begin building the dam. "The next two months are crucial for us."
However, he said, the decision to start dam construction would depend on the assessment of the remedial measures by the technical experts to whom the project management would make a presentation.
Other components of the project would be completed in phases, starting with the headrace tunnel in December this year through June 2016 when the powerhouse with the turbines and generators would be complete.
"We can complete the project as per the revised schedule, by November 2017, if we can begin works on the dam by June," R.N. Khazanchi said.
The project’s initial cost of BTN 35.14bn (USD 0.58bn) in 2006 was revised to BTN 90bn (USD 1.49bn) with BTN 3.5bn as additional cost for the remedial measures of the landslide on the right bank of Punatsangchhu.
"We’ve got an interim sanction of BTN 17.65bn (USD 0.29bn) and the revised cost would be sanctioned in September this year," the managing director said.
