THE Amaila Falls Hydro Power Project (AFHP) is moving forward and development partners’ continued support is a clear demonstration of confidence in the project’s merits, according to President Donald Ramotar.“Within months, we (the current administration) expect to achieve financial closure and commence construction, and this project will come into operation during our new term in office,” he disclosed in his New Year’s address to the nation.
The announcement follows last October’s promised transfer of an accumulated US$80M in payments from Norway, US$45M released in 2013 and US$35M released last October, to the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), which would be used as Guyana’s equity contribution to the Government’s AFHP.
These monies, the Head of State announced on Wednesday night, have been transferred and represent a significant accomplishment for Guyana and by extension the Guyanese people.
“The project is once again moving forward… it demonstrates that all partners have strong confidence in Amaila,” he said.
The transfer of the monies to the IDB follows a clear indication of support for the project from the Bank last August, where the organisation made it clear that it was “still on board” for the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project.

“(It will) ensure the achievement of more affordable and more reliable energy. The time for realising this dream is long overdue. Unreliable and unaffordable electricity continues to be the biggest impediment to investment and job creation in Guyana.” – President Donald Ramotar

Mr. Ramotar stressed that AFHP is high among his administration’s “priorities” of development projects for Guyana.
“(It will) ensure the achievement of more affordable and more reliable energy. The time for realising this dream is long overdue. Unreliable and unaffordable electricity continues to be the biggest impediment to investment and job creation in Guyana,” he said.
The President was emphatic in his assurance that his Government will deliver the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project and its “attendant” benefits to the Guyanese people.
“For too long, Guyanese have looked forward to harnessing our country’s vast hydropower potential,” he said.

CONSISTENT POSITION
Mr. Ramotar’s consistent position on the matter is that economies must serve the people, not vice-versa, and with an expected saving of $9B in electricity subsidies, as well as savings on the $40B fuel bill, enormous contributions can be made to the infrastructural development, which is particularly needed in Guyana’s hinterland to aid and accelerate economic progress.
Slated to be this nation’s most ambitious undertaking, the Amaila Falls Hydro Project involves the construction of a hydropower plant in the area of West Central Guyana, where the Amaila and Kuribrong Rivers meet. Electricity produced there would be delivered to Georgetown and Guyana’s second largest town, Linden.
The allocation of $1.3B for the provision of the Amaila access road and related structures was effectively given the green light from the Parliamentary Committee of Supply, in its review of the Ministry of Public Works’ 2014 budgetary allocation, in April last year.
When the vote was put the Members of Parliament (MPs), from the Government voted in support of the Ministry’s capital expenditures, which included the Amaila project, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) voted no and the Alliance for Change (AFC) abstained. It was this abstention that allowed the project to go through.
However, on July 18, 2013, the combined Opposition in Parliament defeated the Hydroelectric Power (Amendment) Bill in the National Assembly, and in August the Government took the legislation back to the House and received the backing of the Alliance For Change (AFC) but A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) voted down the bill and motion.

ENDORSED
Additionally, the potential benefits of a more stable and reliable source of energy through the advancement of hydroelectricity was also targeted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), last December, as an area for continued focus.
The IMF has been joined by several other regional bodies that have underlined the benefits of hydropower in Guyana.
Also, last September the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Gaston Browne, at the Caribbean Community’s (CARICOM) 35th meeting of the Region’s Heads, underscored the renewable energy potential of Guyana.
The President of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), Warren Smith, at the Bank’s 44th annual meeting in the latter part of May 2014, noted that the possibility of Guyana being able to export surplus hydropower to the Caribbean, as well as the potential benefits for the local economy.
Chairman of the Private Sector Commission (PSC), Ramesh Persaud, has also been vocal on the issue and recently called for the development of Guyana’s hydropower capacity, particularly given that cheap energy supply can increase Guyana’s competitiveness in the several emerging sectors, since it is more economical to establish “energy farms” as compared to paying “significant costs” for fossil fuels.
Other major organisations, including the Organisation of American States (OAS), have publicly stressed the need for a shift in the energy paradigm to initiatives that are more sustainable.