Amaila Falls contract still cannot be found

Apr 14, 2017 News

The Amaila Falls Hydro Electricity Project remains one of the most controversial projects that

Minister of State, Joseph Harmon

the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) administration—or any other Guyana government for that matter—has ever embarked upon. It was supposed to be the country’s biggest infrastructural development in terms of cost. A little over US$40M was spent on the access road alone. Yet, the APNU+AFC government is yet to put hands on the contract.
Since last year, Minister of State Joseph Harmon said that government was still looking for several contracts that were signed by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic government. He pointed out two contracts that the government is still trying to locate – the Amaila Falls Hydro Electricity Project and the Specialty Hospital.
Yesterday, as he hosted his weekly Post-Cabinet press briefing, Harmon was asked about the contracts which he said remain “deeply buried”.
Harmon told the media that after his utterances last year, “the Leader of the Opposition, (Bharrat Jagdeo) said that he had delivered it (the contract) on some CD at some meeting. It was never delivered, so that is the position still”.
Even while in Opposition, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) had asked to see the agreement with China Railway to build the actual hydro power plant to the cost of US$506 million. It had also asked to see the IDB feasibility study on the project presented.
The Amaila project was left hanging in limbo in 2013 after the US developer, Sithe Global, announced its pullout. This was because the National Assembly remained split on key legislation that was critical for partial project

Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo

financing by the Inter-American Development Bank. APNU and the Alliance For Change, while in Opposition, had been unconvinced on how the money would have been spent, among other things.
Sithe Global made it clear, then, that the flagship project, which it would manage for 20 years before handing it over to Government, needed the full backing of the National Assembly.
The road had been a major thorn in the side of the hydro project after it was awarded to Synergy Holdings Inc, whose principal, Makeshwar ‘Fip’ Motilall, was the original mover for the project. The US$15M (initial price tag) access road faced several delays and the contract was terminated in January 2012 by the government.
It was later awarded in parts to several contractors.
The entire project should have cost US$15.4 million, according to the original contract given to Motilall, but ended up costing close to US$41M.