800MW hydro project at Mazaruni… Trinidad firm has no agreement to conduct studies – Prime Minister Hinds

September 18, 2013, By KNews. Filed Under News, Source

An agreement between Government and a Trinidadian firm to conduct studies in Mazaruni, Region Seven, for the construction of a hydro-power dam, expired since 2010, Energy Minister, Sam Hinds said yesterday.

As such, the Prime Minister in a statement stressed that there exists no Memorandum of Understanding between the company and Guyana.

ENMAN’s President, Donald Baldeosingh

“ENMAN Services Ltd. had applied for and was granted an MOU in 2001 to conduct studies at the Takwari site, which was amended a few months later, substituting the Turtruba site. That MOU was amended from time to time, eventually expiring by effluxion of time in July 2010 and ENMAN Services Limited was duly informed,” Hinds said in a statement.

ENMAN, last year, unveiled an ambitious energy project involving Trinidad and Tobago in which a US$700M submarine power cable will link the two countries, with the intention to sell excess electricity from the twin-island Republic to Guyana.

ENMAN’s President Donald Baldeosingh also announced last September during a visit to this country, that his company has developed a number of “giga” projects that involved Trinidad and Guyana in a major way.

At a massive US$4.2B, the projects include an aluminum smelter in Guyana for US$560M; a deepwater port for US$700M; industrial park for US$250M; hydro plant for US$2B and a training institute for US$70M.

With debates continuing about the fate of hydro electric projects in Guyana, ENMAN’s proposal for an initial 800 megawatts facility at Turtruba, Mazaruni, Region Seven, may be evoking some interest at the Government level.

Last week, Public Works Minister, Robeson Benn, disclosed that there was interest in that project in Mazaruni. However, he did not give details.

Recently Sithe Global, the US developer and a key partner in the 165 megawatts Amaila Falls hydro-electric facility, slated to be built in Region Eight, pulled out, leaving the project in limbo. This was after the Opposition failed to back Government on key legislation necessary for the hydro project that would have, at initial estimates, cost Guyana upwards of US$900M to construct.

According to its website, ENMAN was hoping to take some of the excess power from the TGU plant in La Brea, Trinidad, and send it via submarine cable to Guyana, which is currently struggling to meet electricity demands.

Later on, the building of the hydro dam in Mazaruni would see power being sent by the same cable back to Trinidad.

ENMAN said it has been studying the options for “new” energy for the region for several years.

“We concluded that the best opportunity – by far – for deployment of renewable energy on a significant scale and within the medium term is via hydro-electric power development in Guyana.”

Along with its partners, Hardy Stevenson and Associates of Toronto, Canada, ENMAN said it completed a pre-feasibility study on the Turtruba site.

“The study concluded that the project is technically feasible and identified further work to get it to a “bankable” state.”

With the deep water harbour project in Guyana, the Trinidadian company said that it was looking at the possibilities of tapping into the nearby Brazilian market. Brazil has been eyeing Guyana to reduce its shipping time.

The ENMAN Group has described itself as a Trinidad-based grouping of “technology-oriented” companies operating in the Caribbean. ENMAN’s principals include engineer Donald Baldeosingh, former Chairman of the Petroleum Company of Trinidad and Tobago Limited, and Eur Ing Aldwyn Lequay, former Deputy Chairman of the Port Authority of Trinidad and Tobago and Trinidad & Tobago Electricity Commission.

Trinidad and Tobago, ENMAN claims, has more than 500 megawatts of excess power that it could sell for US$0.10 to 0.13, per kilowatt, far below what GPL is providing power for in Guyana.

Each project, ENMAN said, will be financed separately, including possibilities for debt/equity; public-private partnership or supplier financing.