Int’l, local firms vying to construct National Control Centre to manage 300MW power plant

Nov 29, 2023 News

Kaieteur News – Two international companies and two local firms are competing for the contract to construct a building to house the Guyana National Control Centre (GNCC), a project being undertaken through the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM).

Back in September, the OPM issued a request for proposal (RFP) for the provision of “Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) Services” for the construction of the building to support the integration and dispatch of the new 300 MW combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) Power Plant and to allow the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) to supervise, manage and control the new and upgraded power system.

During the opening of bids at the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) on Tuesday, it was revealed that the four companies are Zeco Group of Services Inc. (local firm) who submitted a bid of $4,750,295,164; Home Designs & Engineering Inc. (local firm) in joint venture with Kee – Chanona Guyana Inc. (T&T) which submitted a bid of US$9,989,237.25; Power China International Group Limited (Beijing, China) who bid US$8,685,814.23; and Kalpataru Projects International Limited (India) whose bid stood at US$18,492,869.

The Office of the Prime Minister explained that the scope of works includes all EPC activities necessary to complete the building and install all systems as specified in the employer requirements. This includes, but is not limited to, the contractor’s overall responsibility for designing, procuring, constructing, commissioning, defects notifications period, and maintaining the building to meet the specified performance and functional standards.

The RFP also explained, “The scope of work also includes the supply and installation of a complete diesel-fire generator set, with duty to operate continuously. The capacity of the generator set shall be ISO rated at 125% of the design load capacity of the GNCC Building. Additionally, the scope of work includes an appropriately dimensioned building to house the generator unit and ISO fuel tank capacity to allow for an autonomy of 24 hours.”

The EPC contractor will be required to complete all civil works relative to the installation of the transformers, as directed by GPL.

This publication had reported that back in April 2022, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GPL, Bharat Dindyal revealed plans to establish a national control centre in Eccles, East Bank Demerara, where the present isolated systems located in Essequibo and Linden, would be integrated into the new national grid.

New power plant

The 300-megawatt (MW) CCGT power plant is a component of the highly touted Wales Gas-to-Energy (GTE) project. It includes a 12-inch pipeline, being funded by ExxonMobil, to transport natural gas from the Liza One and Liza Two fields in the Stabroek Block, to the Wales Development Site.

There, the gas will be processed by a Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) facility which will separate and treat its components to supply other products for resale, such as cooking gas. A portion of the treated gas will be utilized to generate some 300 MW of electricity to supply power to the national grid.

The NGL facility and power plant are expected to be financed through a loan from the United States (US) Export Import (EXIM) Bank. Government has said the application is still pending approval.

Notably, the pipeline component is expected to cost US$1 billion, while the contract for construction of the gas plants were awarded to CH4-Lindsayca, to the tune of US$759M.

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300MW, Guyana National Control Centre (GNCC), Guyana Power and Light, Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), power plant

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