Guyana awards Amaila Falls Hydro project EPC contract to Sithe Global, CRFG

Power facilities construction company Sithe Global and Chinese state-owned infrastructure developer China Railway First Group (CRFG) have signed an EPC contract with the Government of Guyana to provide engineering, procurement and construction services to the Amaila Falls Hydro project in the western part of the country.

Work on the $840m project will begin in 2013. The $506m contract is the largest infrastructure agreement in Guyana.

The Amaila Hydropower Project, with a capacity of 165MW, will replace the small power units being run on diesel or heavy fuel, in the region.

The project will include a new 270km transmission line and new substations near Guyana’s capital Georgetown.

Guyana Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh said the EPC contract expanded the role of China in the development of the South American country. The project will be one of the biggest investments being made by China in the Caribbean.

Sithe Global CEO Bruce Wrobel was quoted by Guyana’s Government Information Agency as saying, "We are pleased to be associated with this project, long in the making, that will make a huge difference to the people of Guyana and is representative of the globalised world that we inhabit, a project with many important players, such as the CRFG, CDB, IDB, the Government of Norway, and the GoG)."