Gov’t rejected three cheaper Chinese bids to finance, construct gas plant

Apr 06, 2026 News

…Opted for inexperienced contractor costing US$ hundreds of millions more

Table showing three bids submitted by Chinese firms, hundreds of millions of USD cheaper than Lindsayca/ CH4.

Kaieteur News – Lindsayca/ CH4 was awarded a US$759 million contract to construct two gas plants at Wales, West Bank Demerara- a project which largely relied on a loan from the United States Export Import (US EXIM) Bank.

But increasing this country’s debt by close to another billion-USD was a deliberate act, one which may haunt Guyana in the future as the project continues to face significant delays and cost overruns. Already, the Government of Guyana (GoG) has forked out about US$80M to secretly settle a dispute with the contractors, pushing the cost up to about US$841 million.

Lindsayca’s bid, at the time it was submitted, was the highest among five international companies who had placed bids for the project in September 2022. The joint venture had placed its bid to the tune of US$898 million, but later reduced the sum to US$759 million in negotiations with the GoG.

Sources close to the process however leaked bids that were filed by not one, or two, but three reputable Chinese firms that were not only interested in constructing the project at a lower sum, but were willing to provide financing to the government.

PowerChina International Group Limited (PCIGL) in its financial proposal offered to construct the integrated facility for US$704M ($703,652,256.29)- a whopping US$194 million cheaper than the initial bid submitted by Lindsayca/ CH4.

PowerChina was already hired in Guyana and was experienced in delivering power projects similar to Guyana’s intended structures.

Additionally, PCIGL offered to finance up to 85% of the contract cost, with a 12-year repayment period, through Swiss Export Risk Insurance (SERV).

Meanwhile, China Machinery Engineering Inc. made a financial proposal to construct the integrated facility at just US$696 million. The company was also willing to finance the development, through JP Morgan and SERV.

Another experienced Chinese entity, China Energy Int’l Group Co. Limited submitted an even lower bid- US$467 million and offered to finance the project through Siemens Energy. A proposal addressed to the Ministry of Natural Resources and dated August 31, 2022 indicated that the company was willing to provide up to 85% of the financing required for the project.

Since its inception, government has been extremely selective with the information it shares with the public on this project.

Its strategy has often been questioned by not only members of the political opposition but members of civil society and international organisations.

On Sunday, this newspaper reported that when the GoG hired Lindsayca, the company was under significant financial strain as explained by chartered accountant and attorney, Christopher Ram who reviewed its financials between 2016 and 2019.

As per the Request For Bids (RFB) issued in 2021, companies were required to submit three years of financial statements to the GoG to ensure the company was in good standing.

Ram however raised concerns over the company’s persistent negative operating cash flows in both 2017 and 2018, which he says indicates that the business was not generating enough cash to support itself.

“I am also troubled by the extent to which the company depends on related parties. The balance sheet shows large receivables from related entities, but even more significant payables to those same parties, with related-party liabilities exceeding $35 million. On top of that, a material portion of revenue comes from related-party transactions,” the chartered accountant said on Friday.

From an earnings perspective, Ram said the position was not reassuring. “Despite growth in revenue, the company recorded a net loss in 2018, and earlier profits appear to have been driven by one-off items rather than sustainable operations,” he explained. Operating expenses are consistently absorbing or exceeding gross profit, which suggested that the underlying business model is weak.

As for the US EXIM loan and US content, sources and documents show that indeed during the US vetting process, the consortium leaned heavily on an image of “American exceptionalism.”

The documents show that an American company, Lindsayca Solutions, and its principals were listed as the project lead. The organisational chart submitted to win the contract was 80% American, projecting a facade of strict U.S. corporate governance and reliability to secure the billion-dollar deal.

However, once the ink was dry and the initial funds were secured, the facade crumbled. By January 2023, shortly after the Guyanese government issued a massive down-payment of approximately $150 million for GTE, the Lindsayca-CH4 consortium began to aggressively morph. In a swift maneuvering of corporate structure, two of the original four companies that made up the trusted consortium were kicked out: the primary American Engineering Firm and the local civil contractor hired for vital local works.

Questions therefore remain on the selection process for this country’s single largest financial project in history.

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bids, cheaper, financing, GTE, inexperienced, LINDSAYCA, loan

One thought on “Gov’t rejected three cheaper Chinese bids to finance, construct gas plant”

habeeb April 6, 2026 at 12:31 pm

I have this gut feeling, the reason Guyana Government chose the Highest
Bidder ? Kickbacks. Instead, it backfired and they are stuck.
The 3 Chinese Bidders, with their lower, lowest bids…well… they could not
afford the kickbacks, since they also have to pay their Government percentages
of the contract.
Just my thoughts how they work.

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