Amaila hydro prospector has up to next month – Jagdeo

Sithe Global Power, the leading financial group for the Amaila Falls Hydropower project, has up to next month to state its categorical position about the possibilities of the project coming on stream.

The project has been on the drawing board for many years. According to the Government Informa-tion Agency (GINA), President Bharrat Jagdeo, while reiterating his determination to build a hydropower facility in Guyana, stated that if the decision made by Sithe Global is not favourable to the Government of Guyana, intervention will become necessary even if it requires direct investment by the administration. The work of the company was halted as a result of the difficulties from the global economic and financial crisis, the release stated. The President was speaking at a cabinet outreach on Saturday at the Liliendaal convention centre.

Two months ago the President had stated, at a forum at the University of Guyana, that ‘final studies’ on the project would have been completed this month. He recalled, at the time, that the bid for the project was US$600M, stating that this probably would have been reduced because of the lower cost of steel and other materials.

Phase 1 of the Kuribrong River (Region Seven) Project, which is being developed by Synergy Holdings, involves the installation of 154 MW capacities, the installation of 278km of double-circuit 230KV lines and the construction of 85 km of new access roads. The project involves the construction of two dams built on top of an escarpment and the construction of a tunnel to convey water to the powerhouse.

In Phase 11 of the project, the power capacity will be upgraded to 410MW while in Phase 111, it will reach a further 1060 MW; these two phases of the project may require exporting power to neighbouring Brazil.

Last September, Christopher Kelly of Sithe Global, had stated at a forum, that the project was basically a BOOT (build, operate, own and transfer) project meaning that it would be constructed essentially with private funding and twenty years after going into commercial operation, it would become the property of the state. Makeshwar Fip Motilall of Synergy Holdings stated at the forum that over 1000 jobs would be created over a three year period, with 50-100 jobs going to persons to man the operations of the project.