Gov’t. acquiring more lands for Wales gas plant

Jul 23, 2023 ExxonMobil, News, Oil & Gas

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By Davina Bagot

Kaieteur News – The Government of Guyana will be acquiring approximately 70 acres of land between Friendship and Garden of Eden, East Bank Demerara to facilitate the transmission lines for the electricity that will be generated at the Gas-to-Energy (GTE) project, Wales, West Bank Demerara.

The power will be transmitted from the West Bank to the East Bank via a double circuit 230kV line. In December last year, the Ministry of Natural Resources invited proposals for companies to install the transmission lines and construct a new substation to support the 300 megawatt Combined-Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) Power Plant. The contract was awarded this past week to an Indian firm, Kalpataru Projects International Limited (KPIL).

On Saturday, Ministers of Legal Affairs, Public Works, and Natural Resources, Anil Nandlall, SC,  Juan Edghill, and Vickram Bharrat met with 29 residents and representatives of persons whose lands will be affected by this aspect project, at the Friendship Secondary School auditorium.

Also part of the delegation was Head of the GTE Taskforce, Winston Brassington, and Legal Counsel for the state, Attorney-at-Law, Ronald Burch-Smith.

Brassington told Kaieteur News in an interview following the meeting that the affected lands are not presently occupied.

According to him, “The 230 kV lines are going to go from Wales, over the (Demerara) River, crossing at Garden of Eden and then goes down to the back by the conservancy and then terminate at Goedverwagting by Eccles.”

The process of public acquisition of lands was initiated a few months ago when officials from the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GLSC) conducted a survey of the 50-meter corridor required for the project. This exercise discovered that 29 persons, mostly in Friendship and a few in Garden of Eden would have their lands acquired.

Following the surveys, the valuation process ensued. In this regard, Brassington explained that like in Region Three, the government will be doubling the valuation.

He said, “Today’s public meeting was to, although it’s not necessary, this government engages the people to tell them what we are doing and how we are doing it and so those people will be able to meet with the Attorney and hopefully voluntarily sign up the agreements on the acquisition.”

He noted that the Ministry of Public Works, which is the responsible Ministry for Acquisition for Public Purposes, will be responsible for paying the land owners.

Brassington was keen to note that the 70 acres plot, being acquired by the government, is unoccupied, as the lands are located closer to the conservancy. Additionally, he noted that there are no structures erected, however, some land owners planted crops on their lands.

A newspaper advertisement published in Kaieteur News on July 21, 2023 indicated that at least two businesses would be affected by the project. According to the GTE Project Head, “Our search of the records at the Lands and Deeds Registry show there are a number of companies that own parcels of lands but we are not taking all the land, we are only taking what is necessary for the pipeline.”

He said during the meeting, citizens were more interested in the acquisition process and understanding the parcel of lands that would be affected. The residents were all cooperative with the plans announced, with the exception of about two citizens, according to him.

On average, Brassington said the lands are valued at around $1.5 million per acre, but the government has decided to offer double the amount to the affected persons. He was keen to add, “That’s just an average; some people may have small portions that may be more valuable than larger portions. The important thing is there is no occupation there.”

Residents dispute offer

This newspaper caught up with a few of the affected landowners subsequent to their engagement with the government, who contended the amount being offered by the government for their lands.

Angela King, for instance, complained that residents were told during the meeting by Minister Nandlall that the government “has the authority to take it from us”.

The woman said she was uncomfortable with the tone used, as she believes the Constitution provides for private landowners to be appropriately compensated where their titled lands are required for infrastructural development.

King explained that she has been spending hundreds of thousands of dollars over the past few years to maintain the lands she inherited from her late father, who also struggled to maintain ownership of the property.

She said, “We had to pay taxes and all these things so I’m hoping (to be) well compensated for all of this. So far I have to wait until I contact my Lawyer and see what’s going to happen now.”

The land owner said a parcel of land that will be affected by the transmission lines measures about 23 acres while she also has another plot of property that will be affected.

The woman said she had plans to develop her lands and has already sectioned the property to develop a housing scheme. Additionally, King noted that some of the lands were awarded to nurses, police officers and teachers who are “on the land”.

According to her, “I’m still in the development stages because I have to put down roads and drains and all of that, we don’t get help from nobody, we only paying taxes but we have to find millions of dollars to do all of that so it’s an ongoing project.”

King said her intention was to develop an “organic resort” however she believes this would be impossible with the transmission lines passing through her property.

Two valuation letters received by King and seen by Kaieteur News indicate that 0.128 acres and 1.06 acres, valued at $1.8 million and $1.3 million respectively will be acquired by the state.

Meanwhile, Patricia Corlette, a representative of Sheila Sam said, “Our plot of land already mutated, it was surveyed and then it was mutated into house lots. We already start to dig drains and do the roadway.”

The plot of land owned by Sam is 23 acres according to her representative. In the valuation letter, it was stated that 0.128 acres would be required to facilitate the transmission lines.

The government has offered $3.6 million for the land.

Corlette estimates that about six or eight house lots could be acquired. In this regard, she said she was not satisfied with the compensation offered by the state.

She explained, “If six house lots is going to be affected, we would normally sell (each) house lot for like $4 million because remember we doing work, the prices gone up.”

The woman said land owners, like her, were not given a chance to share their concerns, as the officials only provided information and directed that the citizens speak with their Attorney going forward.

Claudette Foo, a Friendship resident, said she attended the meeting to ascertain how much of her lands would be affected. She said, “Eventually they will have to take it so I’m not making any fuss. They told us we would get double the amount that the land is valued.”

Mervin Mangroo explained that 2.4 acres of his grandfather’s property at Friendship will be acquired. The valuation done for the land indicates that the property is worth $2.7 million.

Finding solutions

Attorney-at-Law, Ronald Burch-Smith told reporters yesterday that over the next few days, the titles of the land owners will be examined and compared to negotiate a final agreement within the parameters determined by the government for compensation to be paid.

He explained, “Occasionally there are issues regarding the title and how the other lands may be affected etcetera so we listen to that and try to find solutions that are appropriate and agreeable to both sides.”

The Attorney pointed out that the Constitution provides that no person should be deprived of their property without compensation while the Acquisition of Lands for Public Purposes Act provides a  framework within which compensation can be made, making the acquisition of lands lawful, subject only to the payment of compensation.

He said that so far no objections have been raised however he anticipates that persons may come forward with two categories of complaints. For instance, he explained that persons may not have titles for the lands they occupy- in such an instance he said assistance will be offered to the owner to get a letter of administration. Additionally, he said land owners may be overseas so a local individual will be granted power of attorney to complete the negotiations.

On the other hand, the Lawyer anticipates that persons may come forward if they are disgruntled over not being able to use their lands anymore for farming or other purposes.
Burch-Smith explained that discussions will be held with the landowners during the course of the week, with the intent of finalizing the agreements in the new week, however, there are a few acquisition agreements that may prolong.

“The government is required to own titles in their name within a short time so what I expect is likely that formal legal process will go ahead while these discussions are pending and for those where the discussions are delayed by legal issues such as title or ownership and so on, those will follow after the land has been acquired,” he noted.

The Attorney pointed out that the government has asked the Chief Valuation Officer to advise on the market value of the lands and in anticipation of dissatisfied owners, they have doubled the compensation.

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• acquired, Brassington, gas-to-energy, lands, Wales

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