A joint venture (JV) between the United States-based OEC USA and GE Vernova, along with Australia’s Worley, has submitted the highest bid in response to the Guyana Government’s call for proposals to develop the 165-megawatt (MW) Amaila Falls Hydropower Project.
The JV partners put in a bid of US$800,060,842, according to tender documents seen by the Guyana Times. A total of five foreign companies is in the race for the Amaila Falls Hydro project.
The OEC, GE Vernova, and Worley grouping had previously tendered to be pre-qualified for this project in 2023 before the Government eventually decided to reissue the Request for Proposal (RFP) last year.
Coming in second with a US$668,000,000 proposal is a consortium of CAMCE-CMEC from China. China CAMC Engineering Co., Ltd. (CAMCE) and China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) have individually done construction projects in Guyana’s public sector and have also bid for major gas-related projects here.
Another Chinese company, China Gezhouba Group Company Limited-HYI, submitted a bid totaling US$432,338,377 – the third highest proposal. In addition, the Chinese state-owned Sinohydro Corporation Limited came in fourth with a US$416,866,949.21 proposal.
The fifth company that bid for the project was a JV comprising India-based Afcon Infrastructure Limited and Scandian Infrastructure AB from Sweden. However, no figure was listed for this JV in the tender document seen by this newspaper.
Back in October 2025, the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), which has responsibility for the energy sector, published the RFP invite for the Amaila Falls Hydro project under a Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) model and subsequently extended the deadline.
Prime Minister Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips had previously explained to this publication that the extension to May 8 was due to the complex technical details required for the proposals. He said the bidding companies had requested more time to prepare their submissions.
According to the RFP document, the project is expected to deliver a minimum installed capacity of 165 megawatts, including the hydro dam, powerhouse, substation, and a 23-square-kilometre storage reservoir, consistent with environmental studies and permits.
However, it was noted that the size of the hydro may be re-engineered to account for changes in turbine technology, thus allowing more than 165 MW to be generated and transmitted.
Under the revised RFP, developers are required to assume all geotechnical risks associated with the project and must demonstrate proven capability and financial capacity to deliver large-scale hydro projects. Only firms or consortia that have successfully built at least three hydro projects of 100 MW or more in the last 10 years will be considered.
The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government has been keen on reviving the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project, which has been on the cards since 2011 but was blocked by the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Coalition both in and out of office.
The 165-megawatt project was the flagship initiative of the Bharrat Jagdeo-crafted Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS). However, the project failed to take off despite having a developer in United States-based Sithe Global, which was backed by investment major The Blackstone Inc.
In August 2013, Sithe Global announced that it was pulling out of the project, which it said was too large to continue without national consensus and cited the lack of consensus in Guyana’s Parliament. At the time, the then APNU and AFC oppositions, holding majority seats in the National Assembly, had both voted down key pieces of legislation, which consequently halted the project.
Then, during its term in office from 2015 to 2020, the APNU+AFC Coalition regime again shelved the project.
The revival of the 165-megawatt hydropower project was one of the promises made by the ruling PPP/C in its 2020 Elections Manifesto. In November 2021, the AFHP was awarded to China Railway First Group (CRFG), but negotiations fell through after the company wanted to change the BOOT model, which the government rejected.
A revised Request for Proposals (RFP) was then issued in 2023, and four companies – Rialma S.A. (Grupo Rialma) from Brazil, China International Water & Elec. Corp, Lindsayca CH4 Guyana Inc., and a group made up of OEC, GE Vernova, and Worley – had submitted tenders to be pre-qualified for the Amaila Falls Hydropower project.
Those bids were under evaluation for several months before the Government decided to eventually retender the project with new technical requirements last year.
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