China Railway has advised the government of Guyana that it cannot enter into a Build Own Operate Transfer (BOOT) model for the construction of the Amaila Falls hydroelectric project, which will supply electricity to Guyana Power and Light (GPL) Inc. at a cost of approximately 7.7 US cents per kilowatt hour (KH). The BOOT model is a project delivery mechanism in which a government entity sells a private sector party the right to build a project according to agreed design specifications and for a specified time. By not entering into the model, China Railway will be able to delay the project completion date beyond 2027.
Bharrat Jagdeo, Guyana's vice-president, commented at a press conference that the Chinese company wants to switch to an EPC (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction) model to continue with the construction of the Amaila Falls hydroelectric power plant. This model consists of the cost of the project being assumed, in its entirety, by the government (covering the acquisition of raw materials and construction costs). However, Jagdeo explained that they were still in talks with the Irfaan Ali government to convince the company to stay with the BOOT model, as switching to an EPC model would require the project to be re-tendered.
Main headline:
Caribbean Loop News: China Railway wants new financing model for Guyana hydropower project.
