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Govt. gets new submissions to revive Amaila
…Brazilians, Chinese, Europeans among those interested – Dr Luncheon
The Guyana Government is in receipt of several offers to build the Amaila Falls Hydro Electric Project after developer Sithe Global withdrew from the project earlier this year.
This was confirmed by Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr Roger Luncheon, who following his post-cabinet press briefing was asked about the status of the project, given Government’s expressed determination to have it become a reality.
The submissions are not formal, Dr Luncheon said, adding that this could only be done should there be an invitation for Expressions of Interest.
Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr Roger Luncheon
According to the Government spokesperson, offers have been coming in from companies in the United States of America, Brazil, China and Europe among others.
“The interest is wide.”
Asked about talks with Sithe Global and the possibility of them making an about turn on the project, Dr Luncheon said that he does not believe that this would happen.
“There are new entrants to the field who have been making offers to the government and saying that they could undertake with a suitable design, even with the same design or with a redesign, to make Amaila a reality.”
The development of the Amaila Falls Hydro Electric Project came to a screeching halt earlier this year when A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) voted against Bill meant to create an environmental offset and a motion to increase the debt ceiling.
Sithe Global in announcing its pullout from the project had indicated that there was no parliamentary consensus.
The project had been subjected to intense scrutiny, particularly over its price tag which had increased from US$450M when it was first announced up to a whopping US$915M.
It involves the construction of a hydropower plant in the area of west-central Guyana, where the Amaila and Kuribrong Rivers meet.
This publication recently published an image of a dried-up Amaila Falls and Kuribrong River.
APNU’s Leader, David Granger, who had voted against the measures in Parliament, said that the possibility of a dried-up falls and river is the reason why his party had called for a Potaro Basin Development Authority in the first place. He said that such a body would have been equipped with the necessary skills to be able to properly analyze and predict weather patterns.
Granger said that the major flaw in the project design was to single out the Amaila site and Kuribrong River as the only source of water for the hydro electric plant.
According to Granger, there are a number of other sources of water in the Potaro basin that could have been diverted to the reservoir for the plant. This would have allowed for a more stable supply of water that could facilitate an even larger plant.
The project is intended to supply the nation with 165MW of electricity.
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