Construction work on the Amaila Hydroelectric Project access road will begin this week.

This follows the issuance of the construction notice to proceed by the Ministry of Public Works to Synergy Holdings on October 5.

The notice follows the recent approval given by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the positive review by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) of key environmental and social aspects of the road works and the contractor’s Environmental & Social Management Plan (ESMP) in the context of the IDB’s policies.

Synergy is fully mobilised at the project site, along with the supervisory consultants. Works will begin immediately on the section of new and upgraded road areas between Mabura Hills Road to the Essequibo River and from Butakari to just west of the Kaburi Amerindian community in Region Eight.
Concurrently with access road construction, the IDB is completing its review of the revised Environmental & Social Impact Assessment Report (ESIA), which includes the Amaila hydropower facilities, the transmission line as well as the access road works. The ESIA was prepared by Exponent & JGP, a consortium of American and Brazilian environmental and social experts on hydroelectric project development hired by Amaila Falls Hydro Inc. (AFHI).

AFHI is a Sithe Global group company established in Guyana for the development of the Amaila hydropower project. Sithe Global is a portfolio company of the Blackstone Group, one of the world’s leading investment firms with assets under management exceeding US$100 billion.

The construction of the access road is the first phase of the Amaila hydro-electricity project, which is the biggest infrastructure project in Guyana’s history, and the flagship of Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS).

The project will involve utilizing less than 0.001% of the State forest area, and the Government of Guyana has put in place measures to ensure that the project complies with both national and international social and environmental safeguards.

In a July statement to the National Assembly, Finance Minister Ashni Singh said, “From the start of its operations, it will provide value to Guyanese citizens and the wider economy through cheaper electricity, while simultaneously enabling Guyana to switch from nearly 100% dependence on fossil fuel sources for electricity generation to nearly 100% clean, renewable energy sources. Then, twenty years after it starts operating, the hydro-electricity plant will be transferred to the people of Guyana at zero additional cost – thereby bequeathing long-term energy independence, national competitiveness and environmental sustainability to our children and future generations.” (GINA)