The Ministry of Finance has sought to clarify and respond to some of the misrepresentations and insinuations put forward by Ms. Janette Bulkan’s letter to the editor (Kaieteur News 29 March 2010, “Amaila Falls Access Road”).
In a statement issued last evening, the Finance Ministry said Ms. Bulkan’s assertions reflect a disregard of publicly available information, such as the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and the Environmental Permit for the overall project.
The statement said:
In April 2002, an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report was prepared by Ground Structures Engineering Consultants, a local geotechnical, environmental and hydrology firm, to address the hydropower project at Amaila Falls.  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.  A modified Environmental Permit was issued by the Guyana Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in October 2009 to the Amaila Falls Hydropower (Project) developer.  This permit includes the construction of the access roads as well as the T-Line clearing.  All efforts are being made to reduce the environmental impact of this project including maximizing the alignment of the access roads with the transmission line path.
“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 Sithe Global, the project sponsor, and under the specification guidelines of the U.S. Forestry Best Management Practices Roads manual. All bidders were provided with a copy of the EIA and the Environmental Permit for the project.  Based on a robust set of criteria and a detailed evaluation, Synergy Holdings Inc of the United States was awarded the contract. In accordance with their contractual obligation, Synergy will prepare and submit an Environmental Social Management Plan, (ESMP). ensuring that all relevant policies and safeguards are in place. Notwithstanding that an Environmental Permit exists for the project including the roads and T-Line clearing, this ESMP must be approved by the EPA before approval for construction is issued for the access roads.
“Funding for the access road by GoG is premised on the consideration of improving the economic viability of the overall hydro project.   In completing the road project prior to commencement of the construction of the hydro project, there would be significant saving in the construction time  and an associated reduction in capital costs (due to the avoided debt & equity carry costs).  Therefore, based on the Project’s current timetable it is necessary for the Government to begin the road construction immediately to ensure completion of the road works in conjunction with financial close. Based on this timetable, it is expected that construction of the hydro project can start in early 2011.
“Given the open, public nature in which the Government has pursued this project, the Ministry of Finance wishes to record its strong objection to the misrepresentations and insinuations being peddled by Ms. Bulkan. Her letter in question represents merely the latest installment in what appears to be habitual naysaying by a small, disgruntled and politically motivated minority who see no good in the progressive and transformative initiatives being implemented by this Government.
“In the current case, the Amaila Falls hydropower project will convert this country’s energy supply, from one that is almost entirely sourced from fossil fuels to one that is almost entirely renewable. The implications on the reliability and affordability of power, along with the attendant benefits to our nation’s competitiveness should be obvious for all to see. Against this background, one cannot help wondering what motives and hidden agendas lie behind this latest attempt to distort the facts,” the statement concluded.