THE People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) is calling on the Alliance For Change (AFC) and A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) to make clear and publicly known their position on the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project (AFHP). This call was made by Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh during a PPP press conference held on Monday at Freedom House. Dr Singh said most of the major stakeholders have endorsed the AFHP, and the only group sending mixed signals is the political Opposition.
He said the impending hike of electricity rates by 26.7 percent drives home the urgency of the Amaila Falls hydropower project. “The reality is that our country needs rapidly to harness its long heralded hydropower potential, and never have we been closer to achieving this than today with Amaila,” he stated.

He stressed that the genesis of Government’s commitment to the hydropower project is that it would like to improve affordability of electricity to all citizens.
Singh said attempts by the Opposition to undermine the hydropower project — while alluding to the cut in allocation for the GRIF (Guyana REDD+ Investment Fund) in the 2013 budget — do not provide any assurance to the Guyanese people that the Opposition has any interest in national development.

“An Opposition committed to national development would not take any step that would cause hindrance to an important project like the Amaila Falls hydropower project,” Dr Singh said.

The Finance Minister noted that while construction of the road to Amaila did not progress as quickly as anticipated, Government did act very decisively in response to the rate of progress, in that it terminated some contracts and awarded new contracts, following which work is now advancing at an accelerated pace.

He said that all of the parties involved — the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), China Development Bank, Sithe Global, the Guyana Power and Light (GPL), and the Government of Guyana — have been working very closely and collaboratively.

With regard to financial closure, Dr Singh advised that many financial institutions are involved, and each of these institutions is going through its own process. Nevertheless, every hurdle thus far confronted has been surmounted. “The major international partners are currently at an advanced stage of their due diligence process, and that process, once completed, should see the project being approved and financial closure being accomplished,” he explained.

While the minister was unable to give a specific date when this would happen, he stressed that concrete progress is being made on the project.