Latest update October 5th, 2024 12:58 AM
Apr 16, 2010 News
… company not building Hydro Electric Project
Hand in Hand Group of Companies is the company which backed Synergy Holdings Inc. with the US$3M mobilization and security bonds which was a prerequisite in securing the recently awarded Amaila Falls Road Project which has been the recipient of a plethora of scrutiny.
This was revealed by Executive Director of the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) Winston Brassington who along with his Deputy, Marcia Nadir-Sharma and Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh, hosted a press briefing last evening to clear the brouhaha which permeated following the announcement by Head of State Bharrat Jagdeo that Synergy Holdings Inc headed by Makeshwar Motilall had secured the contract.
The Finance Minister said that it was disappointing to see certain sections of the media seeking to discredit the merits of the Amaila Falls Hydro Electric Project (AFHEP) but this newspaper maintains that it was the ability of Motilall to undertake the Road Project which was the issue in question.
It was also made pellucid that Synergy Holdings Inc was not the company that would be undertaking the construction of AFHEP as was the previously held notion.
Brassington explained that the current the Project Sponsor for the construction of the AFHEP is Sithe Global Power, LLC, which is “an international development company engaged in the development, construction, acquisition and operation of electric generation facilities in attractive markets around the world”.
Brassington said that the information has been made public many times, “Synergy Holdings, no longer is the project Sponsor.”
It was also explained that Sithe Global is a subsidiary of the Blackstone Group which manages funds and investments in excess of US$100B.
“Sithe Global has the requisite financial and technical capabilities to complete this project. Sithe Global is currently building the Bujagali Hydroelectric Project, a 250 MW station currently under construction on the Nile River in Uganda, Africa.”
Brassington explained that there need not be any worries given that there are safeguard measures in place to ensure that it receives what it is being tendered for, hence the mobilization and performance bonds.
He explained that payments will be made to the contractor on the basis of what has been completed and that the payments will not be to the full tune of the works done, thus the need for the bonds.
He added also that should the Contractor fail to comply with requirements of the project then it could be terminated.
As it relates to due diligence being conducted on the contractor for the road project, Mackeshwar Motilall, Brassington said that this is left up to the institution that backed him with the bonds, namely Hand in Hand.
On the issue of the tax delinquency status it was explained that due to the re-evaluation of properties in the US, Motilall had challenged the computation of the taxes owed and as such has not paid what is outstanding.
Dr Singh assured media operatives in light of fears that the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the China Development Bank may pull out from the contract, they remain in negotiations with the entities which were still attracted to the project.
This, Dr Singh explained, received a significant amount of attention during his recent trip in Cancun, Mexico, adding that Brassington has also been engaged in several meetings on the same issue.
As it relates to the road project under contention there were several bidders including a consortium comprising, B&J Civil Works, Ivor Allen & Dynamic Engineering Co. Ltd with a bid of US$16.65M; BK International Inc with a bid of US$21.1M and Roopan Ramotar with a bid of US$26M.
Synergy Holdings Inc’s bid of US$15.4M was the successful one and it was pointed out that before an evaluation of the proposals was undertaken, the persons submitting proposals were first examined to determine whether they satisfied the pre-qualification criteria/process which was set out in the advertisement and the tender documentation.
The prequalification process was an assessment of the applicable experience of the potential contractor; availability of equipment, access to materials, adequacy of personnel of the potential contractor to perform the job and capacity of the potential contractor to undertake the scope of the works within the allotted timeframe among others.
When asked if they would be willing to provide the proposal by Motilall for an independent scrutiny apart from the evaluation team they responded in the negative, adding that it was for the Auditor General to conduct such an exercise.
Brassington explained further that it would set bad precedence in that this would have to be facilitated for all of the bidders.
The Amaila Falls Hydro Electric Project is just part of a larger effort to revolutionise Guyana’s power generation infrastructure. The storage dam site would be located near the top of Amaila Falls and would impound the waters of both the Kuribrong and Amalia Rivers.
The Amaila site is located on the Kuribrong River, a tributary of the Potaro River in West Central Guyana. The nearest point of access is the airstrip at Kaieteur Falls on the Potaro River, approximately 15 miles to the south.
An overland trail exists from Kaieteur to Amaila. Access is also provided overland by an all-weather road through Tumatumari on the Potaro River and on to Mahdia and Kangaruma.
River access along the Potaro-Kuribrong Rivers to the foot of Amaila Falls involves several portages around rapids and waterfalls. The road from Tumatumari was recently extended to Mahdia/Kangaruma that brings you closer to the site but approximately 30 miles of additional roads will need to be built to the top of Amaila Falls.
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