Dear Editor,

President Jagdeo announced the award of the contract to build roads and bridges for access to the Amaila Falls dam site (Kaieteur News 27 March 2010, “US company awarded US$15 million Amalia Falls road project”).  Makeshwar Fip Motilall, president of the winning contractor Synergy Holdings said that “once this announcement was made, work on the roads could begin and be completed within eight months” (Stabroek News 28 March 2010 “Contract award for hydropower access roads to be announced soon”).   I have not seen a parallel

announcement from the Environmental Protection Agency for the preparation of an environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the access road and bridges and for the alongside path for the electricity transmission lines.  Articles 10 and 11, and the Fourth Schedule, of the Environmental Protection Act (Cap. 20:05 1996) require an EIA and a proposal for mitigation measures for such constructions.  If Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) money is being negotiated for the dam construction itself, then a more comprehensive environmental and social impact assessment will be needed.

If any of these works will be drawing on the Norwegian government donation to the LCDS (and Amaila Falls figures on page 25 of the December 2009 edition of the LCDS), then these preliminary assessments will also be needed as demonstration of the implementation of the REDD-plus governance development plan required by the Norway-Guyana MoU (page 17).

Synergy Holdings said in October 2008 that it would need 30 miles of new road, but the recent announcements refer to double that distance, “110 km of virgin roadway”.  No explanation has been given for the extra distance.  The Government will also need to report the deforestation and loss of forest carbon as a result of the road upgrades and new construction to the Norwegian International Climate and Forest Initiative.

Yours faithfully,
Janette Bulkan