– Guyana inks concessional loan agreement with China
Guyana’s friendly bilateral relations with the People’s Republic of China continue to foster growth and development through the many co-operation programmes that are initiated.
Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, yesterday signed yet another agreement with Chinese Ambassador to Guyana, Zhang Jungao, on behalf of the Chinese Government for a concessional loan from the Export-Import Bank of China (China’s Eximbank) in Beijing.
The loan of RMB 270 M (US $39.6M), provided at a low rate of interest, will be expended on an Infrastructural Development Project for the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) Incorporated.
The project will see significant investment in upgrading of transmission lines from Kingston, Georgetown, to Versailles, West Bank Demerara, via submarine cables, Sophia to Georgetown, Sophia to Onverwagt, overhead cables from Versailles to Edinburgh, West Coast Demerara, and the construction of seven new substations at Georgetown, D’Urban Backlands, Diamond, Good Hope, Mahaica, Versailles, and Edinburgh, and upgrades to Onverwagt and Sophia.
Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, who is also the subject Minister of the Energy Sector, said that it is a great day for electricity in Guyana.
“We are taking a great step in the maturing of our electricity sector, which means a lot to us, as we are coming from a time when service was very poor; but over the last two decades we have been able to greatly improve the provision of electricity; and there is still more to do,” he said.
He noted that while Guyana’s electricity system is still somewhat rudimentary; when compared to those in other countries, Government has remained consistent in its efforts to upgrade the sector.
He explained that due to prudent management of Guyana’s economy, resulting in sustained growth, Government is now able to take measures to ensure that citizens benefit from an improved supply of electricity.
“It wasn’t done before because we needed to take steps that are sound, so we are glad that we have been afforded this support in the form of a concessionary loan with no implications on electricity tariff as would have been the case in a commercial loan,” the PM said.
He assured that by the end of the project, there should be significant reduction in power outages and problems with unstable voltages. He expressed Government’s appreciation for the support, as well as the hope for additional support from China in the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project.
Minister Singh said that this project represents yet another manifestation of the strong bilateral relationship between Guyana and China, emphasising that Guyana is one of the first countries in CARICOM to establish such relations with China.

He said that this project will also support the installation of a fibre optic link, the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system, which will better enable communications and control of the system from a centralised location.
“Once completed, we will have a more robust transmission and distribution network through the integrated coastal operations of GPL, which essentially extends from Skeldon to Parika,” he said.
Minister Singh asserted that this upgrade to the network is a critical pre-requisite for the construction of the hydropower system and the import of power from that system into the national grid.
Additionally, the project will facilitate more efficient load distribution to regulate the current system where some parts of the grid experience surplus generation and other parts experience surplus demand.
“This project will take us closer to achieving more efficient and more optimal load distribution,” he said.
The Minister expressed satisfaction at the diligence with which both parties have worked towards the fruition of the project which should completed within 30 months.
Ambassador Jungao, in brief remarks, said that he is confident that the project will be completed with high standards within the allotted time-frame by the Chinese contractors.
He disclosed that the third China-Caribbean Forum and the 11th Guyana-China Joint Committee on Economic and Trade Forum, which will be held later this year, with the aim of enhancing and promoting further co-operation between the two countries, will lead to more social and economic developmental programmes for Guyana.
Over the years, the Guyana-China relationship has led to the realisation of several projects which have boosted the country’s transformation. Notable is the co-generation factory at the Skeldon Sugar Estate which supplies 10MW of electricity daily to the national grid from one 5.0MW set and two 2.5MW sets.
Another outstanding project is the new 20.7MW Kingston Power Plant consisting of three 6.9MW Wartsila turbines,  which add 30 percent to the generating capacity of the Demerara network, significantly reducing the incidents of power outages.
This plant is a major part of Government’s plan to catapult Guyana to the next level of growth and development, given that power is an important pre-requisite for economic activity.
In addition, a recent agreement was signed with the Chinese Government for the deployment of the ninth batch of Chinese medical doctors to replace the eighth batch who will be completing their stint later this month.
The new batch will comprise general surgeons, ophthalmologists, acupuncturists, radiologists, cardiologists, plastic surgeons, pathologists, gynaecologists/obstetricians, orthopaedists and anesthetists.
Guyana is the only country in Latin America and the Caribbean where medical brigades have been deployed to assist the country’s health sector. (GINA)