Kathmandu, August 29

Contractor of the Sundarijal-based Melamchi water treatment plant is paying a daily fine of Rs 2.1 million to the government for missing the project deadline of August 16.

Melamchi Water Supply Development Board said as per the contract agreement if the contractor failed to complete the task assigned within the given deadline, it was liable to a fine equivalent to 0.05 per cent of total accepted contract amount per day till the project was completed.

A joint venture of VA Tech Wabag Limited and Pratibha Industries Limited had won the Rs 4.2 billion contract for construction of the water treatment plant in 2014.

Deputy Executive Director at the Melamchi Water Supply Development Board Ramakanta Duwadi said the fine would be deducted from the amount to be paid to the contractor. “Since the contractor missed the revised deadline of August 15, it has to pay a daily fine of Rs 2.1 million per day,” Duwadi told The Himalayan Times.

“Though the contractor has expedited work, it is likely to take two more weeks for the project to be completed,” he added

According to Melamchi Water Supply Development Board, the contractor began construction work in 2015. It was supposed to complete the project by March 2016. Following the devastating 2015 earthquakes, the project deadline had been extended to 2017. This has also delayed scheduled test run of the plant. The test run of the plant was earlier scheduled for August. The Sundarijal-based plant has the capacity of treating 85 million litres of water per day.