An Indian company has secured the US$159.9m contract for the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) services for the transmission lines and substations that will be part of the Guyana Government’s gas to energy plant.
A release today from the Indian High Commission said that the contract for providing EPC services for transmission lines and substations for the Guyana Integrated NGL Plant and 300 MW CCGT Power Plant for US$ 159.99 million was signed today at the Camp Street Office of Prime Minister Mark Phillips.
The release said that the contract was signed by Derrick Cummings, Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister; Maurice Gajadhar, Chairman of Guyana Power and Light (GPL) Inc. and Mainak Majumdar General Manager (International Projects), Kalpataru Projects International Limited (KPIL).
It was signed in the presence of Prime Minister Phillips who is performing the functions of President.
According to the release, KPIL is one of the largest specialized EPC companies in India, with an annual turnover of around US$2 billion, is publicly traded, and engaged in Power Transmission & Distribution, Buildings & Factories, Water Supply & Irrigation, Railways, Oil & Gas Pipelines, Urban Mobility (Flyovers & Metro Rail), Highways and Airports. KPIL is presently executing 250 projects in over 30 countries and has a global footprint in over 70 countries, the release added.
The company’s presence in Europe and South America has been further bolstered by the acquisitions of Linjemontage, Sweden and Fasttel, Brazil. Linjemontage offers power supply solutions and services for electricity networks up to 400 kV. The release said that it operates in three core business areas of substations, transmission and local networks and electricity network services. Fasttel has presence in more than 20 states in Brazil, with primary focus on EPC of substations, transmission lines and power distribution services.
Also present at the signing today were High Commissioner of India Dr. K.J. Srinivasa, Minister within the Ministry of Public Works Deodat Indar, Winston Brassington – Head of the Guyana Gas to Energy Task Force and officials of the Task Force.
The release said that PM Phillips and Indar, emphasized the transformational nature and importance of the gas to energy project and how it was part of a comprehensive plan of the Government of Guyana to realize the development potential of Guyana. They also alluded to the association of two Indian companies in the project – KPIL as the EPC contractor for transmission lines and substations and Engineers India Limited as the Project Management Consultant to the Natural Gas to Liquids (NGL) Plant plus 300 MW CCGT Power Plant.
Dr. Srinivasa in his remarks underlined the growing and diversifying India-Guyana relationship and the entry of premier Indian companies both from the Indian public sector like RITES (currently supervising the Ogle Road project), GRSE (which manufactured the ferry for Region 1), REIL (for the 30,000 solar energy systems) & Engineers India Limited, along with private sector companies like Ashoka Buildcon, and now KPIL.
The release added that the High Commissioner expressed hope that the Indian company will be able to execute the project well within the timeframe and guidelines prescribed and specified by the Government of Guyana.
In a separate statement, Prime Minister Phillips underlined the expected cost savings from the project.
He said that the project is anticipated to produce around 300 megawatts (MW) of electricity and is expected to reduce energy costs for the citizens of Guyana by 50%.
Phillips said that the cost of electricity currently stands at an estimated $45 per kWh and will be significantly reduced to around $24 per kWh hour.
“More than 60% of the people of Guyana will benefit from this project; over 500,000 Guyanese will benefit from this project. This project will once and for all bring not only reliable and stable electricity, with the other components that will bring power for over 500,000 Guyanese at a cost that is half what they’re paying now”, he said.