Media blanked as Govt. inks US$160 million contract with Indian firm for Wales Gas project

Jul 20, 2023 ExxonMobil, News, Oil & Gas

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Kaieteur News – The Indian High Commission in Guyana on Wednesday announced the signing of a US$159.9 million contract with the Government of Guyana (GoG) to facilitate the transmission lines and substations for the Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) plant and 300-megawatt combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plant for the Wales Gas-to-Energy (GTE) Project.

Though an official statement from the GoG was not issued up to press time, the Indian High Commission said that agreement was signed at the Prime Minister’s Camp Street Office on 19 July 2023.  The media was not invited to the event. The contract was signed by Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister, Derrick Cummings, Chairman of Guyana Power and Lights Inc., Maurice Gajadhar and General Manager (International Projects), Kalpataru Projects International Limited (KPIL), Mainak Majumdar.

Prime Minister, Brig (Retd) Mark Philips who is currently performing duties of the President observed the signing, along with High Commissioner of India Dr. K.J. Srinivasa, Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar, Head of Guyana Gas to Energy Task Force, Winston Brassington and other officials.

The Ministry of Natural Resources had invited proposals for the ‘provision of Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) Services for the Installation of Transmission Lines and Substations for the integration of the new 300 MWe CCGT Power Plant’ on December 8, 2022.

Three bids for the project were opened at the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) on April 11, 2023.  Chinese firms, Shanghai Electric Power Constr Co. Ltd and TBEA Co Ltd with TV China Railway and China Railway Intl. had submitted bids along with the KPIL for the project. Bids received were US$209,455,297; US$151,764,311 and US$ 175,530,325, respectively.

Kalpataru Projects International Limited (KPIL) is amongst the leading Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) companies with proven experience and expertise spanning over three decades. 

KPIL is part of the Kalpataru Group established in 1969. It is a diversified conglomerate with interest in Real Estate, Power Generation, Agri Logistics and EPC in major infrastructure segments like Power Transmission and Distribution, Buildings & Factories, Roads & Highways, Water & Irrigation, Railways and Oil and Gas.

According to the company, it has an annual production capacity of over 240,000 MT of transmission towers at its state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in India and an ultra-modern tower testing facility, making it amongst the largest power transmission EPC Company globally. It has established its transmission and distribution networks in Africa, Commonwealth Independent States (CIS), the Middle East, South Asia, Asia-Pacific, Europe and America.

Prime Minister, Mark Phillips and Minister Indar in their remarks, according to a statement from the Indian High Commission “emphasized the transformational nature and importance of the mega Gas to Energy Project and how it was part of a comprehensive plan of the Government of Guyana to realize the development potential of Guyana. The Guyanese dignitaries also alluded to the critical association of two Indian companies in the project – KPIL as the EPC Contractor for Transmission Lines and Substations and Engineers India Limited as the Project Management Consultant to the NGL Plant plus 300 MW CCGT Power Plant.”

Meanwhile, High Commissioner Dr. Srinivasa in his remarks underlined the growing and diversifying India-Guyana relationship and the entry of premier Indian companies both from the Indian public sector like RITES (currently supervising the Ogle Road project), GRSE (which manufactured the ferry for Region 1), REIL (for the 30,000 solar energy systems) & Engineers India Limited, along with private sector companies like Ashoka Buildcon, and now KPIL being the newest entrant to Guyana.

The High Commissioner expressed hope that the Indian company will be able to execute the project well within the timeframe and guidelines prescribed and specified by the Government of Guyana. The two countries have forged ties and are already cooperating on infrastructure, education, healthcare, energy, oil and gas and capacity building.

The High Commissioner’s office said KPIL is one of the largest specialized EPC companies from India, with an annual turnover of around US$2 billion and is currently executing 250 projects in over 30 countries, with a global footprint in over 70 countries.

It highlighted that KPIL has so far globally executed orders worth over US$ 14 billion and has maintained a leadership position in all its major businesses. Further, the Company’s presence in Europe and South America has been further strengthened by the acquisitions of Linjemontage, Sweden and Fasttel, Brazil. Linjemontage offers power supply solutions and services for electricity networks up to 400 kV. It operates in three core business areas of substations, transmission and local networks and electricity network services. Fasttel has presence in more than 20 states in Brazil, with primary focus on EPC of substations, transmission lines and power distribution services.

Gas-to-Energy project

The GTE project features three components, a pipeline to transport the natural gas, along with a NGL plant to treat the gas and a 300-megawatt power plant to generate electricity.

Government has indicated that the project is pegged at some US$1.7 billion. The cost of the new transmission and distribution network to facilitate the gas project will however increase the cost of the project to a whopping US$1.86 billion.

Notably, a feasibility study for the project has not been conducted to analyze the viability of the initiative based on its new cost.

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• Contract, GTE, Indian, signed, transmission

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