Putting the cart before the horse: The Amaila Hydropower Project

Two Thursdays ago, the National Assembly voted against: (a) a proposed amendment to the Hydro-Electric Power Act; and (b) a motion to lift the ceiling from $1 billion to $150 billion for the Government’s guarantees of loans to public corporations and companies. Both of these have a direct bearing on the Amaila Hydropower Project.

The proposed amendment relates mainly to the protection of surrounding areas in which the project is located while the motion is to give coverage to the Power Purchase Agreement to be entered into between the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) and Amaila Falls Hydro (AFH) Inc. AFH is the company responsible for the construction, operations and maintenance of the project over a 20-year period, after which the project is to be handed over to the Government free of cost.

Today, we begin our examination of the Amaila Hydropower Project in some detail, and consider what