The Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) has endorsed the sentiments expressed by the Private Sector Commission (PSC) and is calling on all parliamentary stakeholders to support the passage of the Guarantee of Loans (Public Corporations and Companies) Act and the Hydro-Electric Power (Amendment) Bill 2013.
The Amalia Falls Hydroelectric Project has reached the stage where the two critical pieces of legislation require Parliamentary approval for the advancement of the project and obtain IDB Board approval for the IDB portion of project funding.
“This is consistent with our position as stated in our Competitiveness Manifesto that we fully endorse efforts that support innovation an investment in the infrastructure required to develop and deploy renewable energy sources, which ultimately could mitigate the costs of electricity and other conventional energy sources. Thus, Guyana should enlarge its efforts to develop hydropower,” the GCCI stated in a press statement.
They further added, “If project financing does not materialize, let it be as a result of the failure of the project to meet financial and economic viability benchmarks of IDB’s assessment and not as a result of the failure of our political leaders to pass requisite legislation that compliments the project and informs the IDB’s decision making come July 30.”
The Chamber also welcomed the fact that the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is one of the proposed financial partners and is involved in the economic evaluation of the project and that its support for financing of US$175M is contingent on adequate due diligence, feasibility and other safeguards of the entire project proposal.
“The IDB has a long history of assessing such projects and has the technical capacity to verify and inform the prospects and credibility of projects it pursue.”
At this stage, APNU is unsure if they will support the motion and amendment during Thursday’s sitting of the National Assembly, while the AFC has categorically stated that they will not support it.
