Amaila pros outweigh cons, Ali says

Saying that the pros of the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project far outweighed the cons, PPP Central Committee member Irfaan Ali yesterday urged the opposition to reconsider its vote against enabling legislation it voted against in the House last week.

Ali told a PPP news conference yesterday that residential customers can save as much as 20% on their power bills when the project is completed, saving approximately $208.7 million monthly or $2.5 billion annually. “For example, a family paying a $5,000 per month for electricity would see a minimum of $1,000 reduction in their electricity bill per month as a result of the hydro project,” he said, while reiterating his party’s chastisement of APNU and the AFC stance on the bill and motion brought by the government for the project.

The opposition last Thursday voted against the Hydro-Electric Power (Amendment) Bill aimed at making the hydropower project compliant in terms of sustainable development and the environmental policies of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), which is