-Number of joint-venture partners now four
THE Government of Guyana has increased the number of joint venture (JV) partners to four in the Revised Requests for Proposals (RFP) under a Build-Own Operate-Transfer (BOOT) model for the Amaila Falls Hydro Project (AFHP).

In a recent edition of the Guyana Chronicle, the RFP was amended and has increased to a maximum of four JV partnerships, as opposed to the previous figure of three.

Additionally, according to the new requirements, the lead partner within the JV structure must meet no less than 40 per cent of all qualifying criteria detailed in Clause 3.5 of the RFP. Previously, it was said that the lead partner of the JV structure must meet no less than 50 per cent.

In October, 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 hydroelectric dam with a design to deliver at least 165 MW, including transmission lines and substations that include transmission lines from Amaila to Linden and a substation 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 integration with the Guyana Power and Light GPL Grid (at 230 KV) and Control Centre that will be constructed at Eccles, Georgetown.

It was said that 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.

However, this was extended to December 29, 2023.
Furthermore, it was reported that the government had received several proposals and that Korea, Austria, and Brazil had 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, and as such, any party who registered in 2021 is required to re-register and obtain an RFP.

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 aim of issuing the final RFP by January 31, 2024.
Meanwhile, in 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 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.