Abstract:
The share of mini hydropower plants in electricity generation is becoming more important in modern power
generation due to the national policy targets to move from the fossil fuel brown energy to sustainable green
energy. Therefore, the demand for construction of the mini hydropower plants has become higher but these
projects show a significant rate of delays in project delivery. This research was carried out to identify the
project delay phases and the main delay factors in mini hydropower projects. Furthermore, it was expected
to derive mitigating measures for mini hydropower project delay based on the findings. The data collection
process was based on multiple case studies where the project planning documents of three mini hydropower
projects were reviewed to extract delay information. Here, projects managers validated the information in
the documents to be correct and gave an overview of what has happened during the project. Here all
information extracted was discussed under the headings of the case studies (P1, P2 and P3). With
information extracted, delays in ten significant phases of the mini hydropower projects were identified with
its delay percentages. The most delaying phase of the mini hydro project was the weir construction while
least being the fore-bay construction. Delays in hydropower projects occur mainly due to the natural
consequences such as adverse weather conditions and environmental conditions such as an earth slip.
Protests by the interested parties were the next major concern when it comes to delays in mini hydropower
projects. Proper management of the identified delay factors and awareness of delays in relevant phases is
required. Nevertheless, it was found to be essential to make the interested parties fully aware about the
environmental impact even before the initiation of the project in order to successfully mitigate the
significance of delays.
