With funds from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) presumably in the pipeline, government has moved to commence preparatory work on the site identified for the Amaila Falls Hydro Electric Power (AFHEP) project.
The AFHEP is supposed to see a 140-megawatt hydroelectric plant being built on the Kuribrong River, a tributary of the Potaro River in Region Seven (Cuyuni/ Mazaruni). The project has been on the cards for many years now with Synergy Holdings Inc being the developer for the project and Sithe Global Power, serving as the leading financial group. It has become even more pivotal now with the government pushing the Low Carbon Development Strategy.
Recently, the government through NICIL, placed advertisements in the media inviting proposals for four projects which would enable the construction of the AFHEP. These are: “the upgrading of approximately 85 km of existing roadway”, “the design and construction of approximately 110 km of virgin roadway”, “the design and construction of two new pontoon crossings at the Essequibo and Kuribrong rivers”. The fourth part of the project is for the clearing of a pathway alongside the roadways referred to in the first and second parts of the project to allow for the installation of approximately 65 km of transmission lines. The deadline for the submission of these proposals is Friday, January 15, 2010.
According to Executive Director of NICIL Winston Brassington the projects have been put out for tender because they needed to be completed in order for the Amaila Falls project to commence. Quizzed about the likely timeline for the commencement of the project, Brassington said there was still some work which needed to be done in order for it to be finalized and declined to give a timeline. He said the projects that were advertised in the media were just the beginning of the tender process. “We’ve only just gone out to tender,” he said while suggesting that several possibilities remained.
However, President of Synergy Holdings Makes-hwar Fip Motilall told this newspaper via email
that work on the actual hydro plant should start some time in the “second half of 2010”. According to him, the projects that are now up for tender are the first part of the AFHEP and while the contract is being handled by the government, Sithe Global is “acting as construction manager”. He said the contract for these projects is expected to be awarded in February and construction will take approximately 8-10 months.
In October, President Bharrat Jagdeo had said that work on the project could commence by mid-next year if a meeting scheduled for last month with IDB officials in New York yielded favourable results. On that occasion, Jagdeo said that since the IDB may supply part of the financing for the project, it will play a critical role in organizing financing for it.
Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh, during a special IDB function on Tuesday last, had announced the IDB’s support for the project and said that tangible progress had been made at the recent “technical” meeting held with IDB officials.
He said that based on this meeting work is ongoing to make funding a reality.
When contacted, IDB Country Representative Marco Nicola said he did not yet have much information about the IDB’s support for the project. According to him, the loan is being dealt with by the private sector arm of the bank and is not under his jurisdiction.
However, he said he was aware that the bank was examining the possibility of funding the project and was looking at the economic, social and environmental aspects of it.
President Jagdeo had also said in October, after meeting the group responsible for the project, that he was informed that “there was a re-bid of certain portions” of the project which had gone out to tender last year November and the pricing was now in a range that was acceptable. The President said the price for the project would be about US$500 million to US$600 million.
