With about 60 per cent of the project time having already elapsed, the Amaila Falls access road project at the end of March was only about 22 per cent complete prompting the government to advise contractor Fip Motilall to subcontract some of the work as well as to increase his labour force on the site.
Senior government engineer Walter Willis explained to this newspaper that Motilall, the President of Synergy Holdings Inc, had been advised to subcontract some of the work, especially parts related to the construction of bridges. He said the government had advised him to pour more resources into his operations. This, he explained, would mean that Motilall may need to acquire additional labour. He said Synergy Holdings has started only one of the 15 timber bridges that it has been contracted to do. This bridge is only about 18 per cent complete.
Last month, Motilall told reporters that La Niña had badly affected the project. Speaking to reporters after the launch of the Environmental Social and Impact Assessment (ESIA) for the Amaila Falls hydropower project at the Pegasus Hotel, Motilall had said that if the weather was favourable the road would be passable by August. “I’m working with an August [deadline] to get you four-wheel access. If the rain continues I’m not going to hit it. No way,” Motilall said. Motilall also said that the delay in issuing the second construction permit had also hampered his plans.
However, reliable sources have told this newspaper that the government is very concerned at the slow pace of construction, hence its intervention. The completion of the road is key to finalizing funding for the actual hydropower plant. Stabroek News understands that President Bharrat Jagdeo would like to see financial closure to the project before he demits office.
According to the source, Motilall’s excuse of rain is simply not good enough. Stabroek News was told that while rain may have affected the work, other factors would have contributed to the slow pace of the work. Efforts to contact Motilall recently for a response were unsuccessful.
Willis, however, when questioned by this newspaper said that he would not be drawn into this discussion. He said such matters are dealt with by a high level government team.
Speaking on the contract, however, Willis said the construction notice to proceed for sections 2, 3, 4 and 5, which covered a total length of 87.1 km, was given to Synergy Holdings Inc on October 5 last year. He said there was a construction period of 240 days and the completion date is June 2.
The construction notice to proceed for sections 6 and 7, which deal with the virgin forests, was granted on January 11, following the approval of the Environmen-tal Impact Assessment (EIA). Under the contract agreement, the contractor had to be given back the time and the deadline for this phase of the project is September 8, Willis said.
Willis said that so far 30 per cent of the clearing exercise has been completed. “Of all the embankment preparation to receive laterite, 15 per cent has been done,” he added. He said Synergy Holdings acquired additional equipment which has already been fully deployed. Accord-ing to him, there are 5 excavators, 2 front-end loaders and 2 additional bulldozers. He said that this, in addition to the first set acquired, should be enough to complete the task. However, if Motilall feels he needs more equipment to complete the task he will have to bring them, he said.
There was much controversy when Synergy Holdings Inc was awarded the US$15.4 million contract. Questions were raised about the company’s road building experience. Motilall had said that he had built roads in the Georgia and Florida. During an interview with public relations executive Cathy Hughes, Motilall said the contract was a daunting task but committed to completing it on time. He said that ideally he would have liked to be given a timeline for the project of about 16 to 20 months.
The contract awarded to Synergy was for “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.
The government has said repeatedly that Motilall will face severe penalties should he fail to complete the contract in time.
Meanwhile, negotiations for funding for the construction of the hydropower plant are ongoing. Sithe Global, the developer of the project, is responsible for financing the project, with the China Development Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). Jagdeo, since October 2009, had said that the IDB would have a key role to play in this project.
Senior Vice President of Sithe Global Rafael Herz, while in Guyana last month, said that there may be a delay in securing funding for the project but still committed to starting the hydropower plant later this year.
Admitting that this was a complex undertaking, Herz said: “We are currently foreseeing potentially also some delays in ultimately obtaining the financing because it takes [some] time and things have to come together.” He, however, noted that the release of the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) was an important part in advancing the process. The ESIA is now undergoing a consultation process.
When contacted recently, IDB country representative Marco Nicola told this newspaper that the bank is providing technical assistance for the environmental services in addition to services to syndicate the loan. The project, he said, was initially a private project but the government decided that it would seek equity by constructing the bridge.
Last year July, the IDB entered into a technical cooperation agreement with the Guyana government amounting to US$1.2 million to partially fund environmental studies for the hydropower plant. The rest of the funds were to be provided by Sithe Global. The bank had said that this would be used to evaluate the feasibility of the project. The deadline for these studies to be completed was initially identified as December. However, according to the bank’s website, the project is still being implemented.
Nicola told this newspaper that the process is an ongoing one. He suggested that most of the funding for the actual hydropower project itself would come from the Chinese Development Bank (CDB). Last year July, a framework agreement for the Amaila Falls hydropower project was signed in Shanghai, China formalizing the cooperation between the Guyana Power and Light Incorporated, Sithe Global, Amaila Holdings Limited, the CDB, and the China Railway First Group Com-pany Limited. The agreement set out the parties’ intention “to reach financial closure on the Amaila Falls project within 12 months or ideally sooner.”
Nicola said that since Sithe Global is a private entity, the IDB’s policy is that any disclosures concerning agreements should be made by the company and not the bank.
