THE Government of Guyana has invited Revised Requests for Proposals (RFP) under a Build-Own Operate-Transfer (BOOT) model for the Amaila Falls Hydro Project (AFHP).

An official document from the Office of the Prime Minister, seen by this publication, stated that interested parties must submit one proposal covering the construction of the Hydro dam with a design to deliver at least 165 MW including transmission lines and Sub-Stations that include transmission lines from Amaila to Linden and sub-station at the Amaila site.

The revised proposal must also include the establishment of transmission lines from Linden to Georgetown including substation/s at Linden to allow for the integration with the Guyana Power and Light GPL Grid (at 230 KV) and Control Centre that will be constructed at Eccles, Georgetown.

The proposals must be based on a BOOT model and submitted no later than November 28, 2023 to the Chairman of the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board.

Just last week, Vice President and People’s Progressive Party (PPP) General Secretary, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, announced that the government will request proposals for the much-anticipated AFHP.

It was reported that the Government had received several proposals and that Korea, Austria, and Brazil have shown interest in the project.

According to the document, the revised RFP follows a 2021 RFP based on a combined project (Hydro and T-Lines) under either a BOOT or DB-F option as such any party who registered in 2021 is required to re-register and obtain an RFP.

The RFP will be conducted in three stages, which include the pre-qualification of parties capable of undertaking each of the above (hydro and transmission lines/substations) which is due by November 28.

Pre-qualifications will be conducted on a rolling basis, following which pre-qualified candidates will be allowed access to the data room.

In the second phase, pre-qualified parties will be asked to provide feedback on the preliminary project structure and project documents.

This response will be used to revise the initial project structure and project documents with the objective of issuing the final RFP by January 31, 2024.

Meanwhile, at the final phase, formal RFP submissions based on the final project structure and contractual documents will be required 45 days after issuance of final project structure and contractual documents.

The government had indicated since last year that it would have to go back to tender for a company to construct the project, after it was forced to terminate a contract with China Railway Group Limited (CRGL).

The termination happened after CRGL had difficulties honouring its commitment to the Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) contract that it had signed on to.

After winning the bid for the BOOT contract, the company requested to change the BOOT contract’s arrangement to an Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contract.

Under an EPC, CRGL would be responsible for all the engineering, procurement, and construction activities, and deliver the completed project to the government within a predefined time and cost. However, that would require the government to source the financing, whereas, under the BOOT model, the project is financed by the contractor.

The AFHP was first identified in 1976 by the Canadian company “Monenco’ during an extensive survey of hydroelectric power potential in Guyana. Various studies have since justified and strongly supported the construction of the AFHP.