US$8.6M contract for Wales Power Plant control centre signed

Jul 31, 2024 News

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– even as Govt. continues to hide key details on project

Kaieteur News – The government through the Office of the Prime Minister on Tuesday signed the US$8.6 million contract with Power China International Group Limited out of Beijing, allowing for the construction of the Guyana National Control Centre (GNCC).

Kaieteur News understands that the construction of the GNCC is a project being executed by the Office of the Prime Minister, and is aimed at managing the affairs of the gas-fired power plant.

The award of contract was made public by the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) which revealed on its website that the $1,827,929,605 (US$8.6M) contract was awarded on June 21, 2024.

The duration of the project is set for 13 months and the building will be constructed at Beterverwagting, East Coast of Demerara (ECD).

It was reported that the Office of the Prime Minister last year issued a tender seeking bids for the ‘Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) Services for the Construction of a Building for the Guyana National Control Centre’ and Power China International Group Limited was among several firms that bid for the contract.

The tender document had stated that the control centre will support the integration and dispatch of the new 300 MW combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) Power Plant and allow the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) to supervise, manage and control the new and upgraded power system.

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 that, “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.

Quoted in a Department of Public Information (DPI) article, Prime Minister Mark Phillips at the contract signing ceremony said “This is important for the whole management of the transmission and distribution of the power that will be evacuated from the Gas-to-Energy project. So, the people of Guyana, come 2025 will benefit from adequate electricity,”

New power plant

Kaieteur News had reported that 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.

Gas-to-Energy agreements

Meanwhile, with the construction of the National Control Centre said to be the last phase of the Gas-to-Energy project, the Guyana government has not yet released any of the agreements inked with ExxonMobil or the other contractors involved in the project. Pegged at US$2B, the GTE project is not supported by a feasibility study and it remains the single largest financial project ever pursued by Guyana.

It was reported that since 2022, the government signed a Heads of Agreement (HOA) with the Stabroek Co-ventures, ExxonMobil, Hess and CNOOC, that outlines the principles and conditions for the commercial and technical arrangements of the deal.

This publication reported that, three months ago, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo during his weekly press conference was asked by this newspaper when the agreements would be made public when he said “maybe soon”.

In fact, the Chief Policymaker for the oil and gas sector noted that the details of the agreement are already public knowledge. According to him, “Everything that you see in the agreement you know…we told you the price- US$750 million; we told you the timeline for implementation; you know how many turbines and what’s the size of the turbines…you know what the liquidating damages are.”

Jagdeo therefore said, “Maybe soon, I don’t know. I don’t know. That’s for Gail Teixeira and the others” when asked when the agreements would be laid in Parliament.

During a July 8th Sitting of the National Assembly at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, Kaieteur News contacted Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira who explained, “I am not aware that the documents are ready.”

The Minister pointed out that there are “different channels” through which documents must pass before she presents them to the House, insisting “they have a time that they go before the House, it doesn’t happen automatically.”

Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat during that same Sitting was also approached to provide a comment on the release of the agreements and said he was busy and would take the question later. After this newspaper insisted that he provided a comment, the Minister then requested that the question be sent to him at the time.

Several attempts made by the Opposition in the National Assembly to access the agreements and key documents relative to the country’s single largest infrastructure project have been unsuccessful.

It was previously reported that during this year’s Consideration of Estimates for Budget 2024, the Prime Minister again committed to lay over agreements for the project to the National Assembly. He explained that the construction phases of the projects are insured and related documents can be provided to the House. He was responding to MP Patterson on whether insurance is in place for the current works to support the gas plants and whether the government can lay those in Parliament.

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• Centre, China, Contract, control, Wales Power Plant

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