Guyana Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo has announced that the government is considering reissuing a request for proposals (RFP) for the Amaila Falls hydropower project. This decision comes after the previous attempt to find a suitable contractor for the project did not yield satisfactory results.
Dr. Jagdeo stated, “So we’ve had several proposals directly from companies and it is our determination that again when you have multiple unsolicited proposals, the best way to move forward is to have a request for proposal again, an open process. So most likely you will see us re-engage the public to an ad and to get these proposals, and then they could be all adjudicated side by side against each other to see which is the best fit.”
The Amaila Falls hydropower project is considered the largest renewable energy project to be undertaken in Guyana. The government had prepared a Build Own Operate and Transfer (BOOT) contract, in which the winning company would agree to supply electricity to the grid at a maximum rate of US$0.07737 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) under a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).
However, the initial attempt to award the project encountered a setback when China Railway First Group (CRFG), the winning bidder, withdrew from the contract. The company had refused to conform to the BOOT model.
