– when Synergy builds Amaila Falls access road
Synergy Holdings Inc will be giving priority to hiring qualified local labour from “the project’s area of influence” when constructing the Amaila Falls access road, according to the recently completed Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP).
“The project will give priority to hiring local qualified and non-qualified labour belonging to the project’s area of influence, provided they fulfil the qualifications necessary for the type of job offered,” the document said.
According to the plan, “the local communities will be informed about the required profiles for qualified and non-qualified labour, the project schedule, number of vacancies for each activity, contracting time, salaries, and form of payment.”
About three months ago, Synergy Holdings Inc – the company awarded the US$15.4 million contract to construct the road – advertised vacancies for the project.
These were for an office manager, a purchasing and human resources manager, personal secretaries and general office staff, drivers and porters, heavy equipment operators, bridge construction field workers, mechanics and mechanic assistants as well as welders and fabricators.
Questions have been raised about the company’s ability to execute the project specifically as it relates to its road-building capacity.
However, Stabroek News was told by a well-placed source that the company was awarded the contract after it provided evidence that it would hire persons with the requisite experience.
The ESMP said that “in an effort to minimize influx to the work area, hiring centres (or employment phone lines) will be established in areas such as Georgetown and Linden.” It said, “qualified individuals from indigenous communities and other communities in proximity to the project will be encouraged to apply to optimize local content.” The contractor, the document said, will establish dialogue with local community leaders to understand employment needs and expectations and create strategies to generate local employment.
According to the document, “in spreading the job offer, the transitory nature of the work will be emphasized, so that the traditional local subsistence sources (agriculture and livestock activities) are not affected by an eventual labour displacement.”
Local communities, the ESMP said, will be informed about the demand for goods and services necessary for the project construction, along with the corresponding requirements for their purchasing and hiring.
It said too that “goods and services acquisition and hiring will be carried out by means of transparent, competitive and fair processes as perceived by community organizations and the general public.”
If the service or resource is not available at a competitive price or skill level locally, regional options would then be pursued and if not then options further afield. President Bharrat Jagdeo had suggested a few months ago that labourers from China may be hired to work on the project. A senior government official then told this newspaper that this avenue may be considered because of the experience of Chinese in working in forested areas.
Meanwhile, regarding the removal of vegetation the ESMP said that this will be utilized to the maximum extent, with commercial timber possibly being subject to timber sales agreements between the contractor and the Guyana Forestry Com-mission (GFC).
“Vegetation removed from the alignment will be utilized to the maximum extent practicable. Commer-cial timber may be subject to timber sales agreements between the contractor and the GFC,” the ESMP said.
In cases where the transmission line alignment falls within timber concessions, “the concessionaries will be allowed to remove the commercial timber in a time frame agreed to between the GFC, the contractor and the concessionaire.
In those cases where the concessionaire fails to harvest that timber in advance, the concessionaire may tag and mark commercial trees and the contractor will separately stockpile them for subsequent removal by the concessionaire.
Timber not tagged by the deadline set by GFC shall be subject to the timber sales agreement between the contractor and the GFC.”
The construction of the road will commence after the Environmental Construction Permit is given. Senior government engineer Walter Willis explained that an extensive environmental audit had to be conducted in order for the necessary permission to be granted.
Phase one of the Amaila Falls Hydro Electricity Plant (AFHEP) includes “the upgrading of approximately 85 km of existing roadway, the design and construction of approximately 110 km of virgin roadway, the design and construction of two new pontoon crossings at the Essequibo and Kuribrong rivers.” The fourth part of the project is for the clearing of a pathway alongside the roadways to allow for the installation of approximately 65 km of transmission lines.
When construction begins, the road will start from the Wisroc junction and proceed 26 miles along the Linden/Mabura road before turning off at Butakari in the Essequibo. From there, it will go by the village of Kaburi and will follow the trail up the AFHEP.
The road is expected to be built in such as way as to follow contours and to avoid swamps as well as rivers and ravines.
It will be designed for axel loads of 20 tonnes and the bridges and pontoon crossings will be constructed for weights of up to 100 tonnes, in keeping with the requirements of the contractors who are building the hydropower plant.
