Last week’s column summarized the geo-technical features of the troubled Amaila Hydropower Project (AHP). *(Readers please note that the length of roads to be upgraded for the Project is 122 kilometres and not 22 as it appeared in last week’s column.)
The coming weeks will focus on its financing.
Troubled projects
The AHP is one of a class of ‘troubled’ public projects with distinctive features, three of which are highlighted here. First, it has a track record of implementation delays. The Guyana Energy Authority’s (GEA) archives reveal that Amaila Falls hydropower has been pursued since the 1970s. By the 1990s and early 2000s overseas and local investors had explored the pre-feasibility possibilities of hydropower at this site. The geotechnical features of the