Analysis of construction delays in mini hydropower projects in Sri Lanka

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.