Staggered sanction of funds delayed MCCL expansion: Mukul

SHILLONG: Chief Minister Mukul Sangma on Monday said that since the commencement of Mawmluh Cherra Cement Limited (MCCL) expansion project, government funds were received in small installments which resulted in staggered receipt of funds till January, 2011, leading to time over-run which has further resulted in manifold complications and causing de-synchronization in the progress of the project work and mobilization of labour force which has resulted in several extensions to     the date of completion of the project.
The chief minister further stated that stoppage of work by the contractors and desertion of site by the work force due to non receipt of payment by contractors during the initial period, also added to the delay.
According to the chief minister, mechanised methods of operations could not be adopted due to lack of space to maneuver the machinery and the rocky strata added to the difficulty in excavation, difficulty in convincing the contractors of regular payments and re-negotiating for re-mobilisation of work force by the contractors in view of their reluctance to work at a remote place in the North East, inability to optimize outdoor work during monsoon season (June to September) each year and delay in deployment of key heavy duty erection equipments in time due to limited availability of the equipments in the North East, also hindered the smooth progress of the project work.
On the present status of the plant, the chief minister informed the House that group trials of different sectional units started in December, 2015. The kiln was lighted up in the 3rd week of December with some quantity of clinker material being produced. Total clinker produced so far during the trial runs is about 300 MT.
He stated that generally 3 to 4 months are required for stabilization and declaring date of commercial production and continued efforts are on for running the system for longer hours without major breakdowns especially of kiln operations.