Study on the Impact of Cost Controlling Techniques in Mini Hydropower Projects in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Due to the worst economic crisis, Sri Lanka is currently facing sporadic power failures. There is a lack of dollar reserves to pay for the fuel suppliers and the existing national grid network has failed to power the whole nation. The prevailing situation is becoming quite challengeable since there is a huge power crisis due to the shortage of fuel oil which causes to fail whole operations of oil power plants. Therefore, Sri Lanka has relied on hydropower for a majority of its electricity needs. The share of mini hydropower power plants is performing a significant role in contemporary electricity generation considering national policy targets in order to move with sustainable green energy. Consequently, the necessity of the establishment of MHP plants has become higher but there are significant cost overrun factors identified in the construction phase of MHP projects. This research was carried out to identify the cost overrun factors in MHP projects in Sri Lanka. As a result, efficient cost-control measures will be required to address the above matter. Therefore, it was expected to explore the current practices of cost control techniques used in infrastructure projects based on the findings. Various cost control approaches have been created from time to time throughout the last few years. These may include Earn Value Management (EVM), performance reviews, variance analysis, value engineering, site meetings, work programmes, daily material and labor controlling, etc. The data collection process was conducted through questionnaire surveys which are distributed between industry professionals who have enough knowledge and experience regarding the MHP projects. The set of data was converted into quantitative values and collected data from the questionnaire surveys were evaluated by using percentage analysis and weighted score analysis. The results indicates the challenges in current cost control practices and identify the mechanisms to overcome those challenges and determine their effectiveness in mini hydropower project delivery in Sri Lanka.