EVEN though plans were not executed ‘according to the script’ as far as the construction of the Amaila Falls Access Road is concerned, Cabinet Secretary, Dr Roger Luncheon believes that the

recent signing of the Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) agreement is more significant in bringing the project to fruition.
The EPC for the construction of the Amaila Falls hydro project and transmission line was executed in Xian, China, by Sithe Global and China Railway First Group (CRFG). The contract was executed by Mr. Bruce Wrobel, Chief Executive Officer of Sithe Global and Dr. Sun Yonggang, Chairman of China Railway First Group.
“I would be the first to concede that things ain’t happen the way we planned where this road is concerned; it’s not gone according to the script. But I think armed with what we have achieved (the signing), it has brought additional energy to this equation,” he remarked.
Dr Luncheon, also Head of the Presidential Secretariat (HPS), was speaking yesterday at his weekly post-Cabinet press briefing at the Office of the President, Shiv Chandarpal Drive, Georgetown.
There were a number of hurdles that had to be addressed where this project is concerned, he remarked, but signing the agreement was probably major among them as a tremendous amount of energy and capital had to be invested in achieving this outcome.
Dr Luncheon said though the access road has its own difficulties surrounding it but they are energised by what has happened with the signing. “All the other things are, I wouldn’t say insignificant, in the face of this major accomplishment. If you get the world record in the 100’s, getting it in the 50 is a lesser challenge,” he remarked.
He reported how President Donald Ramotar described the EPC signing as an important step in bringing closer to fruition the project and hailed the news of the execution of the agreement, labeling it historic.
Dr Luncheon said Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh declared in his address at the event that the signing provided for the single largest investment in Guyana and one of the largest Chinese investments in the Caribbean.
The minister noted the transformational aspect of the project, insisting on how profound it was in allowing Guyana to move from a fossil fuel dependent economy to one that would now be primarily renewable energy.
According to Luncheon, the key players include the Government of Guyana, the Chinese Development Bank, the Inter American Development Bank, Sithe Global and their principals in Black Water Group, and the China Railway First Group and their principals, China Railway Engineering Group.
At the signing event, Wrobel said: “We are pleased to be associated with this project, long in the making, that will make a huge difference to the people of Guyana and is representative of the globalised world that we inhabit, a project with many important players, such as the CRFG, CDB, IDB, the Government of Norway, and the GoG.”