$1.3B Amaila access road funding approved by Parliament

THE Parliamentary Committee of Supply, on Thursday night, green lighted the $1.3B allocation for building the Amaila access road and related structures.

It happened during the review of the Ministry of Public Works 2014 budgetary provision and the sum was put to the vote by Members of Parliament (MPs).The Government voted in favour of the capital expenditures, which included the controversial Amaila project, while A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) was against and the Alliance for Change (AFC) abstained, which abstention allowed the provision to go through.

Earlier, though, AFC MP, Mr. Moses Nagamootoo charged that the format of the 2014 Estimates put the House in a “dilemma” because the Amaila road programme was on the list of other important projects that his party supports.

Those others, under the Ministry of Public Works capital expenditure include $338M for the rehabilitation of the Demerara Harbour Bridge; $125M for the completion and rehabilitation of bridges; $200M for the completion, construction and rehabilitation of roads and drains in urban areas; $1B for the East Bank Highway improvement project; $1.6B for the East Coast Demarara Highway improvement project; $810M for the West Demerara Highway works; $60M for studies on the Guyana/Brazil land transport link and deep water port; $1B for hinterland roads and $39M for the completion and installation of street lighting and the provision of road improvement projects.

Nagamootoo lamented what he called the “politicising” of the allocations under the Public Works capital programme.

Minister of Public Works, Mr. Robeson Benn rejected that accusation and pointed out that the format of the estates remained unchanged as compared to previous years.

Unfortunate reference
“This so-called bundling of projects is an unfortunate reference…all the capital work programmes have always been put together,” he maintained.

Benn took the opportunity to emphasise the important nature of them and the benefits to the Guyanese people and the local economy.

He contended that: “Without the Amaila road to the dam site and the creation of a hydropower dam, Guyana will suffer. The ordinary people and Guyana’s development will suffer.

“Who would want to see Guyanese suffer in this generation or the next,” Minister Benn questioned.

Slated to be the nation’s most ambitious undertaking, the accomplishment is touted to be able to provide Guyanese with cheaper, reliable and sustainable power supply.

It involves the construction of a hydropower plant in the area of West-Central Guyana, where the Amaila and Kuribrong Rivers meet. Electricity produced there will be delivered to Georgetown and its second largest town, Linden.

The Amaila Falls Hydro Project (AFHP) is anticipated to result in substantial savings to the nation’s coffers, particularly in terms of foreign exchange and the purchase of heavy fuel oil.
Potential benefits

The potential benefits of a more stable and reliable source of energy, through the advance of hydroelectricity, was also targeted, by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) last December, as an area for continued focus.

The IMF’s Executive Board, in a report released earlier this week, suggested that the current Administration continues to focus on the massive AFHP.

The IMF compilation, which followed the end of previous consultations with local officials, said: “Directors encouraged the authorities to ensure that the large hydroelectric project under consideration remains financially and economically viable to curb fiscal risks.

“In this context, they saw merit in strengthening the project and debt management framework and pursuing international best practices as regard public/private partnerships.”

President Donald Ramotar’s position on the matter is that economies must serve the people not vice versa and, with an expected saving of $9B in electricity subsidies, as well as savings on the $40B fuel bill, enormous contributions can be made to the infrastructural development, particularly needed in Guyana’s hinterland to aid and accelerate economic progress.

Last July 18, the combined Opposition defeated the Hydroelectric Power (Amendment) Bill and, in August, the Government took the legislation back to the National Assembly and received the backing of the AFC but A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) voted the bill and motion down.