-NICIL source
Synergy Holdings Inc. was awarded the US$15 million contract for the first phase of the Amaila Falls Hydro- electric Power Project (AFHEP) based on the fact that it submitted the lowest tender to the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Ltd (NICIL).
A source within NICIL, who requested anonymity, told Stabroek News recently that about four tenders were submitted for the project. The source stressed that the contract was awarded via a competitive bidding process within the specified guidelines.
The contract awarded to Synergy Holding Inc is for the “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 to allow for the installation of approximately 65 km of transmission lines.
According to the project’s Request for Proposals (RFP), a copy of which this newspaper managed to obtain, the construction is based on “a time of the essence” basis and must be completed by the end of the eight months following the effective day of the agreement.
According to the same document, the interested contractor had to meet various criteria. He was required to identify similar large scale project experience over the previous five (5) years citing “examples of scope of work, project location and costs,” as well as “references and credentials… including contact information for project managers and/or owners with whom [he] has worked.” Additionally, the potential contractor was required to submit details on the equipment and machinery that he owned and which would be needed. Where the contractor intended to sub-contract the use of equipment and machinery, a copy of the agreement between the contractor and the sub-contracted party had to be submitted.
Additional requirements were the submission of the contractor’s financial and human resource capability to undertake the project and the provision of resumés of the proposed individuals who were likely to be permanently or partially attached to the project. Further “details of the contractor’s past experience and capacity to effectively manage environmental, social and worker health and safety impacts and risk on similar projects consistent with World Bank Standards,” were requested.
Since the announcement of the award to the US-based company, questions have been raised about the company’s experience in road-building and whether it has the capacity to undertake such a major assignment.
Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr Roger Luncheon when asked about the award of the contract to Synergy Holdings during a press briefing on Thursday said that this decision was made via a public tender done within the provisions of the Procurement Act. He said based on the submission of the standard bid documents, Synergy Holdings was successful in acquiring the contract.
He said that the persons who were raising doubts about that company and its ability to implement the project were by extension raising doubts about the procurement process. He said that this seemed to be part of a sinister agenda by persons who had a negative attitude to this transformative project which had the potential to significantly impact the country’s economy positively.
Earlier this week the President of Synergy Holdings Inc, Fip Motilall, when invited by this newspaper to comment on a letter penned by Michael Maxwell, defended his company’s involvement in the project. He said that there was much “misinformation” in the press by letter writers regarding the Amaila Falls Hydroelectric Power Project (AFHEP) and his company. Motilall said he was in the process of assembling the team and the necessary equipment so that work on the access roads could commence shortly. According to him, the engineers on this project are MWH, which is formerly the Harza Engineering Group. He noted that this group has designed over 70% of all the hydro dams in the world.
The question about whether Synergy Holdings has any prior road building experience is yet to be definitively answered.
Meanwhile according to the final draft Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) on the AFHEP (which is available on the EPA’s website), this project as well as other alternatives would impact the physical, biological and social environments in different ways. The EIA was prepared by Ground Structures Engineering Inc (GSEC) to conform to a contract dated June 25, 2001 between GSEC and Harza Engineering Company International LP, its Executive Summary stated.
The EIA also considered alternatives to the proposed plant. This included a no-action alternative, where the project is not built, and fossil fuels are used to generate energy not supplied by the project, and another was a project development with a smaller reservoir.
The document noted that the construction of the plant would entail several distinct phases. This would include the construction of a site access road. Other aspects would be “river diversion works, main dam construction, intake construction, tunnel driving, penstock construction, powerhouse and switch yard construction and approximately 296 km of transmission line from the Project site to the Georgetown area.” The construction operation would be undertaken with typical construction equipment such as bulldozers, scrapers, excavators and trucks. It noted too that quarries would also be identified and developed to provide aggregate for construction of the dam and other facilities.
Significantly, while the EIA stated that “no people will be displaced by the project, it noted that “social resentment by people in the area” could arise if hunters and fishermen lose access to the area, which is regarded traditionally as Amerindian land. The assessment said that the project would create major employment opportunities for residents of the area.
The plant may initiate development of industry, fisheries, irrigation, tourism, transport and urbanization of the project area, the document stated.
The document identified the two following areas as being of critical importance to the success of the project. The first was the “establishment/awarding of timber concessions to begin clearing an access roadway to the project site.” According to the report “early access to the site, and effective clearing of the reservoir, are key factors in maintaining a short Project development schedule that benefits the Guyanese population. Clearing of the reservoir prior to its filling will assist in the minimization of the production of greenhouse gases. And the “Control/management of the development of the area opened up by the construction of the road and the transmission line to avoid uncontrolled growth and inefficient utilization of a delicate resource – the rainforest.” The report suggested that the government “set aside and prohibit any development in an area defined as two kilometres outside of the El 480 contour (project datum) above the proposed reservoir to protect the resource, maximize the longevity of the facility, and to provide flexibility to enlarge the reservoir and expand project output as the nation’s economic base grows and energy demands increase.”
