With the opposition parties indicating that they will be seeking to scrutinize the Amaila Falls hydropower project in the National Assembly, the project developer Sithe Global says it is eager to engage not only members of Parliament but other interested parties over the US$835 million project.
Contacted recently, senior Vice President of the US-based firm Jim McGowan told Stabroek News that the company is currently working on the finance plan for the project and is finalizing the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract. The hydropower plant is supposed to be built by China Railway.
“In the meantime, Sithe looks forward to an open dialogue with members of Parliament and other interested parties in Guyana,” McGowan told Stabroek News via email. Last year, representatives from Sithe Global had travelled to Guyana and had engagements with the public at various locations across the country.
Recently opposition parties A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance for Change (AFC) indicated that they would be using the appropriate parliamentary forum to bring transparency to the project. They feel that there are still several unanswered questions regarding the proposed 165 MW facility at the Amaila and Kuribrong rivers. The PPP/C government has promised that the cost of electricity to consumers will drop considerably when the plant is completed.
AFC Chairman Khemraj Ramjattan was especially concerned about the sharp increase in the proposed cost for constructing the project. “Since the government has signed on we would like to scrutinize this Amaila Falls deal with the company Sithe Global being asked to come in to an Economic Sector Services Committee meeting in Parliament and to be scrutinized thoroughly especially [with respect to] this very important point -from $400 million to $600 million to $835 million being the cost,” Ramjattan said. “We really want to know why these costs have jumped so high,” he said.
The opposition parties said they were especially concerned about the US$15.4 million access road project which was awarded to Fip Motilall’s Synergy Holdings. The completion of this project has been delayed repeatedly. Cabinet Secretary Dr Roger Luncheon recently announced that the latest deadline for completion is March/April.
APNU’s vice chairman Dr Rupert Roopnaraine said that his party would be calling for the road project to be audited and re-assessed. “Any decision on its future will be determined by the quantitative and qualitative findings of this audit,” he said.
