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Gov’t moving ahead with Amalia Falls hydroelectric project

Dec 31, 2009 News

The government is ready to spend the US$20 million it has set aside to commence preparatory works to allow for the construction of a hydroelectricity plant at Amalia Falls.
After a meeting in Washington, President Bharrat Jagdeo, in mid-November, announced that the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the China Development Bank are likely to finance the Amaila Falls hydropower project.
The project is slated to cost over US$500 million and will significantly bring down electricity costs in Guyana and satisfy Jagdeo’s drive for a low carbon economy.
The Government of Guyana and the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) is currently accepting proposals for works to allow for the construction of the plant by mid-2010.
The government funding will provide for the upgrade of approximately 85 kilometres of existing roadway and the design and construction of approximately 110 kilometres of new road.
Proposals are also being sought to the design and construction of two new pontoon crossings at the Essequibo and Kuribrong rivers. In addition, works will have to be undertaken to clear the way for the installation of a 65-kilometre transmission line.
The last day for submission of proposals to NICIL for these works is January 15, 2010. NICIL said it is not bound to accept the lowest or any proposal.
The equity partner in the project has already committed its share of US$130 million in the project and the government has set aside over US$20 million to undertake preparatory works.
Now, what is left is for the financing arrangements with the IDB and the China Development Bank to be concluded.
The Amaila Falls hydro-project is expected to supply 150-megawatts of electricity to the country and this will significantly free up resources used to buy fuel to generate electricity. Guyana’s annual fuel import bill is US$350M.
Five bids were received from interested parties to construct the hydropower plant in November 2008, and these bids were forwarded to the project developers and the equity partner, Sithe Global Power.
Sithe Global Power, LLC, based in New York, is an international development company involved in the construction, acquisition and operation of electric power generation facilities.
The company began as Sithe Energies Inc. in 1968 and has since become one of the largest power producers in the United States. Sithe has developed over 50 power plant projects in nine countries with a capital investment of over US$5B. The company is currently developing the 250MW Bujagali Hydropower Project at Jinga, Uganda.
The Amaila Falls Hydropower Project is just part of a larger effort to revolutionise Guyana’s power generation infrastructure. Also ongoing is a US$39.6M project to upgrade the transmission and distribution (T&D) system, establishing a continuous network from Skeldon, Berbice to Parika, Essequibo, including the East and West Bank Demerara networks.
It will also see the construction of a state-of-the-art control centre at Sophia and will be capable of connecting to the Amalia Falls project once it is completed.

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