KATHMANDU, DEC 26 - The Italian contractor company, Impreglio S.p.A., which developed the country’s largest hydel project, the Kali Gandaki ‘A’, was paid 67 per cent more amount than what was agreed upon in the contract paper, according to an internal report.
The company was awarded the contract to develop the 144-megawatt project at a cost of Rs 7.35 billion. But upon completion of the project it got Rs 12.17 billion, which is 4.95 billion – or 67 per cent — more than what it should have got according to the contractual agreement.
The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), however, has declined to approve the payment, much to the chagrin of the contractor company officials, who are claiming full payment. Last year, it formed a committee headed by chartered accountant Ratna Sansar Shrestha to look into the issue and submit a report. The report is currently under consideration.
The project, under the NEA, entered into an agreement with the company on January 12, 1997. The company was to complete the construction before November 13, 2000, but complications in the tunnel construction delayed the project, which was completed two years later, on May 18, 2002. The NEA has approved only 19.97 percent amount – that is Rs 1.46 billion — payment to the company. The probe committee has blamed "variation order" due to the complications in the tunnel for the dramatic rise in the cost of the project.Posted on: 2003-12-27 04:40

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