Amaila Falls Hydropower Project is unlikely to become reality any time soon

Bai Mtwah yuh mek dem PPP thieves choke pon their steak and champagne. Don't you know that the abandonment of the project would make a big dent in the amount the PPP and friends can steal from the public purse?

The viability of this project was never determined since no economic, technical and financial feasibility study was ever carried out. Further, the cost of the project has not been finalized and therefore the cost of electricity to the ratepayer cannot be set and hence it was disingenuous for Sithe Global to state that the project will provide GPL and its ratepayers with the lowest cost option as well as reduce GPL’s average generation costs.

This project have too much attention. They are trying to get another loan to complete the road. Got my drift?

To paraphrase a famous saying: The road to Amaila is paved with unsubstantiated loans, dodgy contracts and fat bribes.

That falls project will leave the Guyanese tax payers with a massive debt that they will never be able to repay. 

In the early nineteen hundredths, countries that borrow money and doan payback stand the risk of invasion and their revenues siphoned off.

Watch China closely, they possess such arrogance. 

This project will cost the taxpayers US$1 billion if the hydro power plant ever becomes a reality. 

$1billion . . . $2 billion who gives a shit. That's the Guyanese Taxpayers' (power consumers) problem. This frankenstein of a project will have life as long as the grifters in Freedom House stand to get their cut.

Remember Fip Motilall?? That bum will be (quietly) paid an additional $US15-20 million for his "rights" if this thing gets off the ground.

Yessir . . . motivation is everything.

Let's Build dis ting!

I  have  absolutely  no doubt  that hydro, solar,  wind and  other  green technologies are  the  future and  the  way  forward for developing  countries  like  Guyana. Further,  I  still  believe  this  Amelia Falls Project is still  feasible  and  the  right  fit  for Guyana if  it is  being pursued and executed in an  above  board and transparent manner.

As it  is,  the  fish  is rotted from  the  head  down and  the  diaper is  bulging  with  poop,  but  we  should  not  act  hastily and  throw away  the  baby  with  the  bath  water. First we clear  the  mess  and start  with new  slate.

Costs of a project of this magnitude can never be estimated accurately. It is common for professionals to underestimate the cost of building railroads, bridges, and tunnels, etc. right here in the United States. Why are we so quick to issue condemnation on anything that's experiencing some sort of glitch??  It has become habit for some to only criticize. The Amaila project is going through major problems but we must never lose sight of the fact that it has the potential to help solve our energy needs. We have to wean ourselves off Venezuelan and TNT oil. These people are our enemies.  

Random thought . . . Fip Motilall

Redux,

There are always problems with contractors.  You can see the best attorney to help setup a good contract but yet you will be screwed by an unscrupulous contractor. That's the case here. 

ummmm . . . THAT'S your take, eh?

Let me 'refresh' your criminal loving mind lil bit:

This ignar (Motilall) was the DEVELOPER of the WHOLE project until a couple of years ago when it was pointed out to Jagdeo and the PPP crime family that no funding agency [other than the MAFIA] would even look at the project with this joker in charge.

. . . keep relying on information blackout and short memories bai   

I would like to see the EPA report on the areas to be flooded. A topological map would be a nice addition. I also do not know of the species unique to the area that will be lost, if the lake will extend into Amerindian holdings and what steps will be taken to conserve the lake by not turning it into another gambling, or holiday retreat for the PPP rich ( with them owning the land around it)

My faith in this government is completely lost. Everywhere one looks one see leeches and assorted parasitic encrustations on state assets. Who will own and control this project is not known yet. If it is a BOOT will it be the same lot at we see at NBS, NICIL, BBRB, NIS, Oil leases,  etc with their tentacles sunk deep into the nation's blood stream?

My hope is this thing falls through and we can get reforms to prevent the brazen and pervasive corruption that is apparent domain of our political culture these days.

All  of  the  above are  valid  concerns  that  ought  be  fully ventilated and  addressed in  an  open  and  transparent manner by  relevant  authorities with  oversights from independent sources. However, as I  have stated before, for developing   nations  such  as  Guyana  to  remain economically viable,  it  is imperative that  they have all options  available  to  them on  the  table.      

 The imperative to have all options open is not inclusive of the imperative to develop at all cost.

We see what is happening in the artesinal mining,  and the giving of houselots. The mining has been a source of income for the state beyond its wildest dreams but it has been with tremendous cost in environmental damage, It has also encroached on tribal lands with coastal people thinking they are Guyanese  so they have a right to anything since they do not know and never acknowledge Native patrimony.

The giving away of thousands of houselots in small plots with no sewer or power grid laid down or reserves established for sustainable community life as green space, playgrounds  schools busineses etc. The lack of planning here has been total. They simply draw up grids and allocate portions and hand them out willy nilly and called it progress.

We will have a lake some one thousand square miles here with this falls. All the bio material to be covered here will create a new eco system what we do not and cannot anticipate. The surrounding lands has to be studied for use and allocated with care and this cannot be at the hands of some government crony or PPP kinfolk.

This has not been thought through clearly and the secrecy behind it has been the first sign that they are not doing the right things. Then there was the motilal fiasco and now we have peculiar financing schemes with no guarantees or caps as to cost. We cannot be paying premium  (as with the berbice bridge) electricity cost because some  group need to get their money back when in fact they are just parasites and the nation's citizens are the ones strapped with funding the project.