-local office declines comment
Synergy Holdings Inc., the company contracted to complete the first phase of the Amaila Falls Hydroelectric Project (AFHEP) has opened an office in Guyana and is now inviting “well qualified and experienced team members” to join their team.
Construction of the access road and the transmission line to the proposed site for the AFHEP was expected to commence last month, but it remains unclear as to when the project will begin. Officials from Synergy Holdings as well as from the government remain tight-lipped as to when construction will begin. However, reliable sources have told this newspaper that several pieces of heavy-duty equipment have been brought into the country by Synergy Holdings.
In an advertisement placed in the state-owned Guyana Chronicle two Saturdays ago, Synergy Holdings Inc. invited applications for vacancies in nine areas. These were for an Office Manager, a Purchasing and Human Resources Manager, Personal secretaries and general office staff, drivers and porters, heavy equipment operators, bridge construction field workers, mechanics and mechanic assistants as well as welders and fabricators. Applications were requested to be sent to Synergy Holdings Inc. at Lot 117 John Smith Street, Section M, Campbellville, Georgetown. No deadline was given for the submission of these applications.
Synergy Holdings Inc., according to the advertisement, is “a USA company with significant road building and construction experience”. It said that the company is currently building the all-weather road to access the hydro-electric site. When Stabroek News visited the Lot 117 John Smith Street office of Synergy Holdings Inc on Wednesday afternoon, the receptionist informed this newspaper that Fip Motilall the President of the company was overseas. This newspaper was also told that the person currently managing the office was not present. During a second visit to the office on the following day, the receptionist said that the official in charge of the office was not normally present during the day but that no comment would be issued to the media at this time.
Synergy Holdings Inc was awarded the US$15.4 million contract for the first phase of the AFHEP based on the grounds that it submitted the lowest tender to NICIL. Questions have been raised about the company’s ability to execute the project, specifically as it relates to its road-building capacity. Despite suggestions by Motilall and Head of NICIL Winston Brassington that the company had significant road building experience, no evidence of this has yet been presented.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, vice President of the Inter-American Develop-ment Bank (IDB) Roberto Velluntini met with President Bharrat Jagdeo and reportedly discussed the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) and the AFHEP. A statement from the Govern-ment Information Agency said the meeting was held at the President’s Office and that the “discussions focused on Guyana’s Low Carbon Deve-lopment Strategy and the bank’s support for the Amaila Falls Hydropower plant.”The government is looking to the IDB and the China Development Bank to provide part of the funding for the project. GINA did not say whether any firm commitments were made at the meeting.
IDB Country Representative Marco Nicola when contacted on Thursday said that the meeting between Velluntini and the President “was a very short meeting”. He did not say if any definitive decisions had been made at the meeting. Nicola, other IDB officials, Head of the Privatization Unit Winston Brassington, Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh, and Presiden-tial Advisor Kevin Hogan were also present at the meeting.
The government has earmarked US$40 million-US$60 million in LCDS funds that will be used to take down Sithe Global’s equity and by extension reduce the annual “take or payment to the Amaila Falls Hydro Inc. “ Sithe Global, is the developer for the project. “Under the terms of the project, the government has the right but not the obligation to substitute Sithe’s high-cost equity with LCDS funds,” the latest draft of the Low Carbon Develop-ment Strategy says. “Once the plant is operational, future governments may exercise the option to sell the government’s equity stake to private investors,” it further said.
There continues to be some confusion over what the actual price of the hydropower plant will be. The government recently released a statement where the total price (interest included) of the 154 MW plant was pegged at US$616 million compared to the estimate of US$650 million given by Rafael Herz, Sithe Global’s Project Manager for the AFHEP. This figure given by Sithe Global, included an estimated US$190 million for the transmission line and other supporting infrastructure.
The government, however, said the actual construction cost of the plant is US$451 million (US$306 million for the actual hydro construction and US$145 million for the transmission line, clearing of its corridor and for the road). Interest during construction, the debt reserve fund and construction contingency would account for US$165 million, the government said, which would lead to a total price tag of US$616 million.