IDB evaluator retracts concerns about Amaila hydropower developer

Erik Helland-Hansen, the Head of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)’s expert panel commissioned to evaluate the Amaila Falls Hydropower project in Guyana, has reportedly withdrawn a statement where he expressed concerns that the project’s developer Sithe Global LLC had not as yet taken adequate environmental considerations into their plans.

In late March, Helland-Hansen was quoted in the Norwegian journal, Development Today, that the bank had questioned the entire dam concept. “The explanations so far have not been sufficient,” he was quoted as saying. At that time, he had reportedly said that he could not talk much on the project because of his position.

However, in a subsequent interview