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Government skirts question on US$157M commitment to Hydro
– Sithe Global is still majority owner of AFHI – Dr Luncheon
Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon, says that Amaila Falls Hydro Inc (AFHI) is very much in existence, with Sithe Global still holding the majority shareholding in the Company. AFHI was created to build and operate the Amaila Falls Hydro Electric Plant.
The company is 60 per cent owned by Sithe Global for committing to invest US$157M while Government had claimed that it will only invest US$100M and will own the remaining 40 per cent.
Leaked Confidential Project Documents have since unearthed that Government in fact committed US$157M.
Dr. Luncheon, during his weekly post Cabinet press briefing on Friday, told media operatives, “I don’t even know that there was a day that we could agree on that Sithe Global walked.”
An Extract of the Confidential Project Document outlining Guyana’s financial commitment to the project.
He said to the best of his knowledge, “Sithe Global has majority ownership of the company AFHI…If you say to me the company was dissolved then I would understand that they walked. That eventuality has not occurred”
According to Dr. Luncheon, “That company, as far as I know, has not been dissolved.”
He was asked why Government has consistently maintained that it would be investing US$100M when in fact the financial commitment by Government in the project, according to the leaked confidential document, is US$157M.
He challenged this publication to make public that document.
“I will suggest for the satisfaction of the skeptics in our midst that the conclusion that logically arises that the government made two contrary claims be attested to by the provision of these documents.”
He said that should the document be made public then he is certain there would be clear cut explanations.
Dr. Luncheon told the media operatives that he has been a part of the delegation that provided information on what Government’s investment in the project is and that “we were building the road and we had the GRIF (Norway) contributions.”
Asked about what the total commitment for the road and GRIF money is, Dr. Luncheon said, “It depends on the time.”
He said that if Guyana was building the road at the time and cost during the time of Synergy Holdings Inc it would have been a different figure.
At that time, the road contract had been set at US$15.4M.
Dr. Luncheon pointed to the fact that after the reversal that led to the abandonment of the Synergy (Holdings Inc) road building option and going out to tender for the seven lots there would be a different price.
According to the leaked project document Government has committed US$35.2M to the Amaila Falls access road.
“You probably would need to expose the sources to deal specifically with the commitment made, the time the disclosures were made so that you could assure yourselves and others whether there was indeed some reason for it to be bandied as a deceitful and obvious effort by Government to conceal.”
According to the leaked Confidential Document on the Amaila Falls Hydro Electric project, dated July 11, 2013, the Guyana Government has committed finances as follows:
| Amaila Falls Access Road | US$23.8M + US$11.4M spent prior to 2013 which equals to US$35.2M |
| Guyana Norway Partnership Equity | US$80M |
| Guyana Fund for Special Operations (FSO) | US$42M |
| Total | US$157.2 |
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