President reiterates commitment to hydropower project

– says Amaila Falls Project remains number one priority

Reiterating that the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project remains the number one priority of his administration, President Donald Ramotar said he remains hopeful the mega-project would become a reality.

Speaking at the commissioning of the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) power station at Vreed-en-Hoop, West Coast Demerara on Monday, the President said efforts are being made to restart work on the transformative project before year-end.

He said a lot of work has already been done on the project, and he pointed out that Norway has already transferred US$80 million to the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in this regard.

“We have already identified another company to step into the shoes of Black Stone and Sithe Global. We are working feverishly to conclude this arrangement, so that, hopefully, we can start construction very soon,” President Ramotar said.

He pointed out that, through the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) agreement with Norway, some US$150 million of the US$250 million have already been disbursed to Guyana.

Contending that a report in one section of the media that the US$80 million is unlikely to be approved by the IDB until June 2016 is misleading, President Ramotar said, “We have the resources to go in that direction [restarting work on the Amaila Project].” The President said Government is committed to seeing the Amaila Falls Project to fruition, as one of its foremost goals is to provide cheap electricity to consumers.

He also warned that while Guyanese are enjoying the drop in fuel prices, it is not a situation that the country can control, and as such, it will not last forever.

 “We have to take the opportunity available to try to ensure that, in the future, we have power at a cheap rate. That is why we are looking — more and more — at renewable energy; renewable energy not only in hydro, but in many other areas, harnessing the possibility in the sugar and rice industries to generate power.”

“I am committed towards the completion of the Amaila Falls Project, which will help us to produce electricity at a cheaper cost,” he declared.

With cheap electricity, he said, waste from agricultural products would be reduced, and Government would be in a better position to give more resources to farmers and workers generally.