Private sector in support of Amaila Falls Hydro Project

Sep 26, 2013 News

Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh is appreciative of what he believes is the support of the private sector in wanting the Amaila Falls Hydro project to come to fruition.
Making reference to the competitiveness manifesto that the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) recently launched, Singh said, “I am happy that we have today a private sector that recognizes the importance of these initiatives and want to publicly acknowledge the forthright stance taken by these leaders who have not hesitated to come on board and say we believe that the Amaila Falls project is good for Guyana”
The Finance Minister in speaking to the benefits that the private sector by way of foreign direct investment has brought to Guyana, said, “If you speak with the membership of the Chamber of Commerce, the Private Sector Commission or any of the umbrella private sector bodies and you speak with any entrepreneur in Guyana they will say to you that the single most important impediment to increase accelerated investment in growth is the cost and reliability in energy.”
He further implied that if every manufacturer in Guyana was able to “enjoy electricity rates 20 per cent lower than they currently pay” then they would not have to invest in back up power and generation of electricity, the profits (capital) of which could be invested in expanding the business.
Singh’s remarks come in the wake of the opposition and academics criticizing the project, citing that the lack of information on the project and unanswered questions with respect to how much the overall cost will be on the nation and if indeed tariffs will be lowered to 20 per cent.
It was ascertained that the generation of electricity which would be produced, would in five years be insufficient to supply the grid. Not to mention the fact that during the dry spells the Amaila Falls water flow would be insufficient to power the grid meaning that GPL will have to use generated power to supply the shortage.
More damning are the projections made by analysts who posit that the ever increasing cost of the project which grew from the projected cost of US $500M to over US $850M, with the propensity to go well over the billion-dollar mark had the project actually materialized, this would have crippled taxpayers.
APNU Member of Parliament, Jaipaul Sharma, said that the high cost and non availability of the requisite information to scrutinize the project lead the opposition to vote it down. It was not a position where we didn’t want energy reduction or the Hydro project; we welcome such initiatives provided that correct procedures and accountability are followed and in this case it was not.

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Private sector in support of Amaila Falls Hydro Project

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