GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC—The last phase of the Gas-to-Energy project is moving apace. A new US$8.6 million contract was signed between the Government of Guyana and a Chinese company known as Power China to construct a building to house the National Control Centre.
Power China was one of the competitive bidders among three other companies shortlisted during the open tender process.
The building will be constructed in Beterverwagting, on the East Coast of Demerara. The project will last 13 months.
During the signing ceremony on Tuesday in the boardroom of the Office of the Prime Minister at Camp Street, Prime Minister Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips noted the building’s role in delivering power from the Gas-to-Energy project.
“This is important for the whole management of the transmission and distribution of the power that will be evacuated from the Gas-to-Energy project. So, the people of Guyana will benefit from adequate electricity in 2025,” the prime minister stated.
He added that the project will allow the government to deliver on its promise of easing the cost of living for citizens across the country.
“The power from the Gas-to-Energy project would be reliable so that the cost would go down. We promised the people that we would reduce the cost of electricity by 50 percent, and we will deliver on that promise.”
The 230 KV transmission lines are currently being installed by Kalapataru Projects International Limited (KPIL).
“Today, we have signed the last aspect of the entire leg of projects surrounding the Gas-to-Energy project. We have [KPIL], who is building the 230KV transmission line to bring it to Vreed-en-Hoop Substation and to bring it to Beterverwagting located behind Eccles…That is now where this contract kicks in, where we have the control center building,” Indar explained.
The minister said that a temporary building is expected to be constructed to meet the timeline.
“So, we will have to build a temporary one to ensure that we don’t miss the opportunity to dispatch once the power plant commences its operations. That should be completed around December of this year,” the minister disclosed.
Meanwhile, Kesh Nandlall, the Head of the Executive Management Committee of Guyana Power and Light Inc (GPL), said that the building will play a key part in executing GPL’s services.
It will aid the agency in managing the power grids efficiently. “It is intended to house the scanning equipment. It is a critical infrastructure for the development of the power sector going forward since it would be housing the brainchild of the grid,” Nandlall stated.
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