– President Jagdeo
PRESIDENT Bharrat Jagdeo reiterated Friday that selection of the contractor for the Amaila Falls road was legitimate, and based on the findings of a technical team that was tasked with evaluating the four proposals that were submitted for the job. He made the foregoing observation during a press conference at the Office of the President when the issue was raised, and by way of clarification said that Technical Adviser in the Public Works Ministry Walter Willis was a member of the technical team at reference which corroborated its recommendation with the conclusion that the company to which the contract was awarded has “comparable experience.”
Noting that such a procedure takes away the power of the government to interfere with the technical process that precedes the award of contracts, Presidet Jagdeo said:
“You can’t have two sets of standards; you can’t want Jagdeo, the Cabinet, or politicians to start saying that the contract must go to you or the next person, based on some perception or media reports. If we do that, we will not put a distance between the politicians and the technical evaluation of projects.”
Guyana’s new procurement law only allows Cabinet to give a no-objection to contracts. Cabinet can, however, have a say if it finds flaws in the technical evaluation process, and has the right to order a reevaluation.
President Jagdeo said he can defend his argument that Guyana’s procurement law is advanced and unlike any other in the Caribbean.
The Amaila falls hydropower project is estimated to cost in the vicinity of $450M. This would include the $305M for the plant itself, and about $140M to fund the transmission lines. President Jagdeo explained that project management costs have also been included in the sum.
On July 15, a framework agreement between the parties to the Amaila Falls Hydro-Plant project was signed in China formalising the cooperation between the Guyana Power and Light (GPL), Sithe Global Amaila Holdings, China Development Bank, and the China Railway First Group.
The agreement sets out the parties’ intention to reach financial closure within 12 months or sooner.
At Friday’s press conference, President Jagdeo reiterated that the money at reference will be used as the loan component for the project, and highlighted the importance of reducing the equity financing the project so that the remuneration rate will also be reduced.
“This is why we have set aside some amount of money from our Low-Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) to buy down some of the equity. To the extent that we can do this, the price also comes down,” he said.
The president said he is fully aware of the campaign against the ‘hydro’ project, but noted that he is not unduly worried, and has urged his Cabinet members not to become too caught up in the to-and-fro battle raging in some quarters.
“I don’t pay too much attention to it, because it follows exactly the campaign that a similar people had against the (Berbice) bridge… The bridge is now there, and it’s paying for itself, and it’s paying the investors a decent return on their money…,” President Jagdeo said.
The Amaila Falls project is the biggest infrastructure investment in the country’s history, and proposes to provide cheaper electricity while simultaneously enabling Guyana to change its dependence on fossil fuel for the generation of electricity.
The paving of the road leading to the Amaila Falls will utilise less than 0.001% of the State Forest area, and will be in compliance with both national and international social and environmental safeguards.
After 20 years, the project, which is fully financed by the private sector, will be handed over to the government, and President Jagdeo said it will significantly reduce the cost of electricity. (GINA)