A view of the 600 megawatts Karuma Hydroelectric Power project. A
government audit found structural defects in the dam’s tunnels and
replaced the engineers. FILE PHOTO | MORGAN MBABAZI | NATION
Uganda’s flagship hydropower projects will not come on line this
year as scheduled as it emerges that the contractors have requested an
extension of time to complete the works at both Karuma and Isimba dams.
They have cited hitches in design and engineering as well as factors beyond their control.
The
immediate implication of these delays is that Kampala now faces a mini
debt-servicing crisis as the five-year grace period for repayment of
loans used for construction of the two dams ends before they are
commissioned and supplying electricity to the national grid.
In
2015, Uganda borrowed $1.43 billion and $483 million from China Exim
Bank to fund the construction of Karuma and Isimba respectively and
construction started.
As the construction of the dams
was initially set for completion between August and December 2018,
Uganda was supposed to start repaying the loans over a 20-year period,
thereafter using money raised from power tariffs.
Electricity
consumers will also continue to suffer high end-user tariffs, currently
ranging between 8.3 and 9 US cents per kWh for power generated from
Bujagali, even though this represents a drop from about 11 US cents
after debt refinancing for the plant mid this year.
Addressing high tariffs
The
high Bujagali tariff was supposed to be softened by capacity from Karuma
and Isimba, which are expected to come in at lower tariffs of average
4.97 and 4.16 US cents respectively.
The EastAfrican
has learnt that in June this year, the engineering, procurement and
construction contractor, China International Water and Electric
Corporation (CWE), for the 183MW capacity Isimba submitted a request for
extension of time to the Minister of Energy and Mineral Development.
CWE
cited the reasons for failing to deliver the project on time as “delays
in engineering/design of embankment dams” as well as adverse “weather
experienced in the last quarter, which has had an effect on progress”.
But
it turns out that the 600MW Karuma — Uganda’s biggest power project to
date — will also overshoot its construction period by several months
after its contractor Sinohydro Corporation, too sought a new schedule to
effect delivery.
Junior Energy Minister Simon Dujanga
said the government is reviewing the contractor request for more time
and admits an extension will spill over into the debt repayment period.
“We
will look for money and pay them. Sometimes in project management, you
cannot avoid these delays. What is important is that they are for a good
reason,” Mr Dujanga said.
The Ministry of Energy, the
Project Steering Committee, the Uganda Electricity Generation Company
Ltd, the Solicitor General and the Owners’ Engineer on site are
reviewing the contractors' extension of time requests.
Quality issues
“Sinohydro
Corporation has also lodged a request for extension of time. This too
is under review by the same bodies reviewing the Isimba extension,” said
Simon Kasyate, UEGCL corporate affairs manager.
It is
not clear whether the new completion schedules as requested by CWE and
Sinohydro will be approved, but what is clear is that both projects will
miss their delivery timelines.
From the outset,
quality issues at the underground Karuma dam have been a cause for worry
after cracks appeared in the tunnels — a result of poor concrete mix,
poor design of the tunnel and its lining as well as sloppy workmanship
that did not conform to the dam design template, thereby compromising
the structural integrity of the project.
Also of
concern was general laxity in supervision by the government’s consultant
on site — referred to as Owners Engineer — the Indian firm Energy
Infratech Pvt Ltd — both at Karuma and Isimba.
In
January, the government of Uganda fired Infratech from the Isimba site
and hired Artellia EAU & Environment to work alongside local firm
KKATT Consult Ltd as Isimba too had developed issues. Cracks had caused
leakage, leading to flooding in the powerhouse and destroying the coffer
dam.
100-year lifespan
In
a special audit of the project, Auditor General John Muwanga noted that
Infratech lacked the capacity and experience to supervise the Isimba
works, which resulted in “poor concrete quality on site, cracking, cold
joints, honey-combing and failed concrete repairs,” which could lead to
high maintenance costs for the project in future.
Even
as Karuma is currently past the 85 per cent mark in general physical
progress in as far as the generation component is concerned, according
to UEGCL officials, it cannot beat the December 2018 completion
deadline.
To remedy the quality assurance issues, the
UEGCL board — the government agency that is mandated with the
supervision of construction works as well as generation of electricity —
ordered the contractor to undertake corrective works at Karuma.
“Stoppage
of works to address some quality assurance issues in 2017 partly
explains why this project has been delayed. However, we are confident
that what has been done so far meets the agreed technical
specifications,” Mr Kasyate said.
The projected
lifespan of Karuma is 100 years, but engineering experts warn that
unless the contractor adheres to all quality assurance parameters, the
dam may not last that long.
On the other hand,
construction of Isimba commenced in April 2015, with the contractor CWE
tasked to deliver the power dam in 40 calendar months, meaning it was
due for commissioning this month.
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