Interest remains in developing a 3000 megawatt hydroelectricity plant in the Middle Mazaruni with talks about two consortiums involving Russian bauxite company, RUSAL, the government of Guyana and Brazilian electricity company, Electrobras.
In a recent letter sent to Gianfranco Miceli – the Director of Business Deve-lopment of Brazilian company, Andrade Gutierrez Con-struction, by RUSAL General Manager Alexey Gordymov, it was stated that the Russian company is ready to further develop the project at Kurupung if certain terms are accepted. This hydro-power project had been floated many times in the past.
In the letter dated May 14, which was seen by this newspaper, Gordymov told Miceli that he hoped that their meeting in Miami in March this year was productive and at least the parties could exchange their intentions and recognise how they could move the project forward. He recalled that despite efforts they could not find any amicable solution at the time. He recalled that during the March meeting it was understood that one of the crucial points for Miceli was to get Electrobras to be part of a consortium. He mentioned the building of a smelter. After numerous internal reviews and discussions, they would like to continue dialogue on the main principals, Gordymov said.
He outlined six points. According to the letter, Consortium A would be created with three main stakeholders: Electrobras, the Govern-ment of Guyana and Rusal. “This consortium would be responsible for developing the Hydropower Plant and distribution of energy”, Gordymov wrote. He said the consortium would build a 3000MW hydropower plant which would be done in three phases.
He said that the first 1000MW would be sold to Brazil “beside what is energy required by Guyana” and the second 1000MW “(probably less)” would go to the smelter. The third 1000MW would be sold to Brazil, he said.
He outlined Consortium B – which would be created between the government of Guyana and RUSAL for the construction of an aluminum smelter. “RUSAL would control the consortium”.
According to the letter, Consortium B has a right to declare an option to use energy in the second phase of up to 1000MW “in case smelting capacity will be built before commissioning 2nd phase”. Such an option has to be declared no later than six months after the commissioning of the first phase, Gordymov outlined. He said that if this option is not declared by Consortium B within that time then Consortium A has a right to use the energy of the second phase at its own discretion. In this case, the third phase will be developed by Consortium A when Consortium B decides that the smelter is needed, according to Gordymov.
He said that the Consortiums will enter into a written agreement where Consortium A will guarantee to supply power to Consor-tium B in the requested amount for smelting but no more than 1000MW at a cost basis price.
“We will appreciate your feedback on this message and would like to point (out) that we are ready to develop further this project in case you accept (the) above main terms”, Gordymov wrote. He added that any final deal is subject to contract.
A hydro-power project in the Middle Mazaruni has long been considered. Last September at the opening of the Takutu Bridge, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had affirmed his country’s commitment to the construction of an 800 megawatts hydropower plant in Guyana. He had said that Brazilian officials would be visiting Georgetown to talk about this project. Lula, while emphasizing the importance of energy and electric power in carrying out all the potential for investment and cooperation between the two countries, said that he was “ready to have Brazilian companies finance the construction of hydropower plants in Guyana.” He had said that this initiative would also benefit the Brazilian state of Roraima.
Also in September last year, President Bharrat Jagdeo met with then Charge d’ Affaires of the Brazilian Embassy, Minister Rodrigo Fonseca, and two representatives of Andrade Gutierrez Construction: Miceli, and Business Director Pablo Arruda, to discuss the possibility of establishing an 800MW hydro-power project in the Middle Mazaruni, Region Seven.
The Government Informa-tion Agency (GINA) had reported that after the meeting, Fonseca explained that the project will be studied in the coming weeks. He further stated that the Andrade Gutierrez representatives came to brief the President on the details. “It was an opportunity for President Jagdeo to meet these gentlemen so that they could explain the feasibility and the technical aspects of this important hydro-power project which Brazil believes is important also in the effort of integration between Brazil and Guyana,” Fonseca was quoted by GINA as saying.
He had explained that some of the energy would be integrated into Guyana’s national power grid with the rest of the energy being purchased by Brazil for consumption by the state of Roraima, the northern Brazilian state adjoining Guyana. “As soon as we develop all the necessary agreements with the Guyana authorities and the Brazilian authorities, this project should most probably start sometime next year to be completed in 2015, when the first turbine should be generating,” Miceli responded when asked about the projected timeline for the development of the hydro-power plant.
Andrade Gutierrez S.A (AG Group or AGSA) is a Brazilian construction company. The organisation was founded in 1948 and is today one of the largest privately held groups in Latin America and amongst the top three largest construction companies in Brazil.
It is a market leader in construction, government contracts, telecommunication, real estate investments and other sectors of the Brazilian economy.
A project for hydropower at the Amaila Falls has drawn much criticism because of concerns over whether the principals behind it have the wherewithal and experience to execute the job.
