GPL breaks ground on new Colombia substation

Jun 25, 2026 News

(Kaieteur News) – Guyana Power and Light Incorporated (GPL) has begun construction of a new 69kV substation at Colombia, East Bank Demerara, marking the latest milestone in a multi-billion-dollar overhaul of the country’s electricity transmission network.

A groundbreaking ceremony was held on June 20, 2026, led by contractor Kalpataru Projects International Limited (KPIL), the Indian firm that has emerged as a central player in GPL’s grid modernisation push. Construction is currently in its first major civil works phase, with pile-driving operations underway to establish the structural foundation on which the substation will be built.

The Colombia facility forms part of Lot 2 of GPL’s Project 053 and has been designed specifically to improve voltage stability and distribution reliability within the Demerara-Berbice Interconnected System. Once completed, it will reinforce transmission capacity and support load growth in rapidly developing areas connected to the DBIS, a system already under significant strain as Guyana’s economy continues its record expansion.

GPL breaks ground on new Colombia substation

Workers on the ground at the construction site.

Pile-driving will be followed by foundation construction, equipment installation, and full electrical integration into the national grid. GPL stated it is working closely with KPIL to ensure all works meet approved technical specifications, international standards, and environmental and safety requirements, while committing to minimise disruption to nearby communities throughout the construction period.

Colombia already hosts a power station equipped with 17 containerised generators and six step-up transformers capable of generating 30 megawatts to the national grid. The new substation is intended to complement and extend that capacity as demand grows.

The Colombia substation is one piece of a vastly larger infrastructure push. In April 2025, GPL signed contracts worth approximately US$422 million with Power China and Kalpataru for the extension of transmission lines across the eastern corridor of the DBIS.

Power China was awarded Lot One valued at US$256.7 million, while Kalpataru secured the remaining two lots for US$156.5 million combined. The scope of those contracts is expansive: 155 kilometres of 230kV double-circuit transmission line, 167 kilometres of 69kV double-circuit line, five new substations, and the upgrade of the existing Kingston substation. The 230kV line will interconnect with the Goedverwagting substation — currently under construction as part of the gas-to-energy project — through to a new substation in Williamsburg, East Berbice.

In November 2025, GPL signed an additional US$235 million in contracts: a US$199 million agreement with KPIL covering new substations and transmission lines at Kuru Kururu, Soesdyke; Williamsburg, East Berbice; Hydronie, East Bank Essequibo; and Princes Street, Georgetown, alongside a US$35.93 million contract with China National Machinery Import and Export Corporation.

The 2026 national budget further underpins the expansion, with Senior Minister of Finance Dr. Ashni Singh allocating $66.2 billion specifically for transmission and distribution network upgrades. Those works are designed to carry power efficiently from the gas-to-energy plant at Wales through Garden of Eden, Goedverwagting, Sophia, along the East Coast of Demerara, across the Berbice River, and as far as No. 53 Village.

GPL’s head Kesh Nandlall has explained why the scale of investment is necessary. “It is no secret that Guyana has the fastest-growing economy in the world,” he said. “GPL’s role is of paramount importance in supporting the energy needs of the country.”

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69kV substation, GPL, Kalpataru Projects International Limited

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