Georgetown – President Irfaan Ali said that Wednesday’s energy contract signing, which will result in the construction of the 300-megawatt power plant in an integrated facility with a Natural Gas Liquid (NGL) plant, is extremely important to Guyana’s development trajectory.
He called the moment “significant” for the country.
“This is the largest project that we would have embarked on as a country, and that brings with it its own challenges, but it also gives us an opportunity to build capacity,” he said.
The project, Ali noted, transcends power generation and gives rise to unlocking Guyana’s enormous potential.
“This project is not only about the generation of power and liquids…I’m sure understanding the opportunities that this project will unlock for us as a country is just enormous, from the liquids perspective from energy and building our competitiveness on the energy side,” the President said.
The Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract for Wales, West Bank Demerara Gas-to-Shore project, was signed between the Government of Guyana and the US-based partnership CH4/Lindsayca.
The EPC Contract will be supervised by a global supervision firm – Engineers India Limited.
The President acknowledged that while the US$759 million project is a major accomplishment, his administration is not allowed much time to celebrate given the multitude of transformative projects underway, particularly now with a growing revenue base.
On this note, Ali assured that the Gas-to-Shore project will not reduce the Government’s commitment to hydropower and the pursuit of a diversified portfolio of energy generation to be unparalleled and unmatched in the region.
“It also is linked to our strategic approach on energy that involves beyond our borders, and all of these things will be rolled out as we move forward with unlocking our energy master plan that is national and regional in nature,” he said.
Government, he added, is “very proud that we have done everything within international norms and beyond to bring this project to the end”. (CMC)