Since President Bharrat Jagdeo announced the award of the US$15 million two Fridays ago, which NICIL Head, Winston Brassington disclosed was won by the US-based company, several letters have appeared in the local newspapers questioning the company’s experience in road building and whether it has the capacity to undertake such a major assignment. Other letter writers have questioned whether the necessary environmental assessments have been carried out.
On Tuesday Stabroek News contacted President of Synergy Holdings Makeshwar ‘Fip’ Motilall via email and enquired as to the road-building experience of his company. This newspaper also queried whether eight months would be sufficient time to finish the first phase of the project and whether there was any conflict in Synergy Holdings being awarded the contract despite the fact that it is the developer in the project. In response, Motilall, in an email sent on Thursday, said he was in the process of preparing a press release to address the matters raised and that it would be disseminated shortly. However, up to press time yesterday, no release had been received by this newspaper.
Meanwhile, Brassington, while disclosing to this newspaper that the contract was awarded to the US-based company, had said that a number of other entities had also bid for the project. However, he did not name any of the other bidders. When asked if there existed an arrangement if Synergy Holdings would be sub-contracting for the first phase of the project, Brassington said he could not disclose the details of the contract.
Forestry specialist Janette Bulkan, in a letter published in last Tuesday’s edition of the Stabroek News, raised questions about whether an environmental impact assessment (EIA) had been done in connection with the proposed construction of the access roads and bridges for the path alongside for the electricity transmission lines, in keeping with Articles 10 and 11, and the Fourth Schedule, of the Environmental Protection Act (Cap. 20:05 1996). Bulkan also noted that while in October 2008, Synergy Holdings said it would need 30 miles of new road, the outline for the project speaks of 110 km of virgin roadway.
However, following Bulkan’s letter the Ministry of Finance issued a statement refuting her assertions. According to the Finance Ministry, the EIA and the Environmental Permit for the overall project represented information that was publicly available. The release said that “in April 2002, an EIA report was prepared by Ground Structures Engineering Consultants, a local geotechnical, environmental and hydrology firm to address the hydropower project at Amaila Falls.” Further, the release stated that in June 2008, an amended EIA report was issued by the same firm to address additional scope, including transmission line realignment and access road construction.” According to the Finance Ministry, a modified environmental permit, which included the construction of the access roads and the T-line clearing, was issued by the Guyana Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in October 2009 to the developer of the AFHEP.
The Finance Ministry also said that a design-build RFP was tendered in December 2009, based on performance criteria for the road and clearing project. This scope of work was prepared in collaboration with the project sponsor Sithe Global “and under the specification guidelines of the US Forestry Best Management Practices Roads manual… All bidders were provided with a copy of the EIA and the Environmental Permit for the project,” the release said.
Now that Synergy Holdings Inc has been awarded the project, it is contractually obligated to prepare an Environmental Social Management Plan (ESMP), which has to be approved by the EPA before construction of the access roads begins, the release stated.
Meanwhile, the issue of the EIA is also addressed on the main website for the project: http://synergyholdings.net/energy/hydro/amailafalls/amailafalls.html. According to the website, “In 1998, Synergy Holdings Inc. joint-ventured with Harza Engineering Company (now called MW Harza Global) to fund and perform a detailed feasibility study and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the 1st Phase of a reduced AFHEP project.”
“The developers agreed to review the expandability of the project at least to Phase II. A loan from the US Trade Development Agency (US TDA) was applied for and received to cover approximately 50% of the cost of this feasibility study with the developers paying the rest,” the website said.
The website said too that between 1999 and 2001, a full feasibility study and EIA were carried out on site including surveying, drilling in excess of 400 metres, and several site visits by Harza engineers to evaluate the drill cores and the physical characteristics of the site and to install river gauging equipment downstream of the falls. A man-camp on site and an access road crew in excess of 50 personnel worked on this project for several months. Drilling equipment was flown in by helicopter, supplies came in by river and the ATV access road.
The contract awarded to Synergy Holding Inc is for the “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.
After this is completed, the plan is to commence the construction of the actual hydro plan, with assistance from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). President Jagdeo, during a recent press conference, said that funding is being sought from the China Development Bank and that a local team will be travelling to China soon to have discussions with bank representatives. Guyana is hoping to raise some US$450 million for this phase of the project. The President explained that these funds are not a loan to the Guyana government, but rather to the project. The government will have to buy the power, Jagdeo explained. Questions have since been raised about how much the country will have to pay for this power.
The long anticipated Amaila Falls project is supposed to see a 140-megawatt hydroelectric plant being built on the Kuribrong River, a tributary of the Potaro River in Region Seven (Cuyuni/ Mazaruni).
