Cheap Jerseys Store IDB

micevan1l6

–    Amendments approved –    AFC caps debt ceiling guarantee at $50B –    Greenidge says cost now US$1.054BBy Gary EleazarWhile there was no consensus to be had in the National Assembly on the Amaila Falls Hydro Electric Project in its current construct, the House,NFL Jerseys Wholesale, through a majority vote, managed to approve the amendments to the Hydro Electric Act as well as increase the debt ceiling guarantee for Public Corporations to $50B.Sithe Global,Wholesale Jerseys 2018, developers of the project, had threatened to walk away had they not received the support of all three of the political parties in the National Assembly.APNU’s Carl Greenidge makes his presentation during the historic session.The marathon session of the sitting of the National Assembly began on Thursday, one hour after its stipulated 14:00hrs start time, and the business of the House did not conclude until yesterday morning at 03:00hrs.Historic SessionThe first order of business saw a history-making decision by the House, through a majority vote, to have a defeated motion and Bill returned to the Order Paper during the same session of Parliament.Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, at the beginning of Thursday’s session, informed the House that the move to reconsider the voted down proposals came in light of recent developments. He was referring to the call by Sithe Global for consensus in the House, through the changes to two pieces of legislation. The developers said that this is required to pave the way for the financial closure for the hydro electric plant.A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) vehemently opposed the move, but the Alliance for Change (AFC) voted in support of having the matters be placed for reconsideration.The parliamentarians had to wait for several hours to debate the matters at hand, given that both opposition parties insisted that the debt ceiling motion and the Hydro Electric Amendments be placed at bottom of the agenda.HYDRO OFFSETThe debate finally got underway just about 22:00hrs on Thursday,Nike NFL Jerseys China, and while the amendment to the Hydro Electric Bill makes no reference to the Amaila Falls Hydro Electric Project, Prime Minister Hinds in presenting the changes in the law for debate,Wholesale China Jerseys, centred his arguments on the merits of the project.The proposed amendments called for the creating of an offset area to be created,Alexander Nylander Jersey, in order to compensate for the hydro electric project and its environmental impact.Hinds told the House that over the years a number of hydro projects would have been considered, for which MoUs were inked,Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys, but none ever made it to the advanced stage that the current project has realized. He said in the mid 2000s, one the reasons that the Amaila Falls project was not aggressively pursued was the fact that at the time it was not envisaged that the oil prices would skyrocket to the current levels.Hinds suggested that the administration believed that oil prices would not have risen above US$30 per barrel. He said too that another reason the government did not pursue the project back then, was the fact that the equity partner at the time had demanded a 25 per cent return on its investment, as well as to have the plant transferred to Government at a commercial rate.He said that as government pursued the project with Sithe Global, they managed to have the company accept a return on its investment of 19 per cent, while it would be turned over to government after 20 years at no cost.The Prime Minister did not address the 8.5 per cent interest rate for the US$500M China Exim Bank loan for the project.Just EstimatesAddressing the varying prices that have been made public for the Amaila Falls Hydro Electric Plant, the Prime Minister said that “these are just estimates” that are continuously revised.The plant was originally planned at US$350M which quickly rose to US$650M, then to US$840M and in the last two weeks it has been further revised upwards to US$858M.The Prime Minister insisted however that the price of generation of electricity will be reduced significantly with the realization of the Amaila Falls Hydro Electric Plant.Chief Financial Spokesperson for APNU, Carl Greenidge, took the Prime Minister to task over his statements and said while government has espoused that the cost of generation will go down, this does not mean that the tariff charged to the consumer will reduce in the same manner.Greenidge said that this has in large part to do with the inefficiency of the Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL).According to Greenidge, GPL is the “most inefficient corporation in Guyana.” He reminded that recently the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) had pumped US$10M into the power company in an effort to reduce its technical and commercial losses, but this has only moved marginally.AMAILA NOW US$1.054BAccording to Greenidge, during APNUs meetings with the IDB, as well as Sithe Global and its parent company the Blackstone Group – which was conducted in the presence of the Prime Minister – none of the officials was willing to provide an assurance that the tariff paid by the consumer would reduce.Greenidge also said that the opposition was uncertain on what exactly the plant will cost given the varying figures being provided. He said that while government continues to argue that the opposition is being provided with documentation on the project, the parameters keep changing.Greenidge, who also served as Minister of Finance in a People’s National Congress Administration, told the House that on July 17, last, the party was provided with documentation which said that the plant will cost US$840M. He said when APNU met with Sithe Global and Blackstone two weeks later “their price was US$858.”Greenidge said that in a subsequent meeting with the Sithe Global/Blackstone team, it was raised why the figures were changing so dramatically, within a matter of days, and according to him, the party was again advised of a revised price, and that it is now US$1.054B.No government speaker subsequent to this revelation challenged this position put forward by Greenidge.He said that the APNU team was informed that there was still a significant amount of work to be done in developing the project that will drive up the cost to the US$1.054B figure.According to Greenidge, neither the feasibility study nor due diligence for the project has been completed. He said too that the design for the Hydro Electric Plant is not absolutely finished, neither has the exact location for the plant been determined.“There are serious issues to be addressed and you have to set out a manner to compare and contrast what you say.”Debt Ceiling GuaranteeMeanwhile, Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh, in presenting the motion to raise the debt ceiling for the Guarantee for Public Corporations, told the House that in light of the concerns raised by the Opposition, Government was willing to compromise. As such, he presented an amendment to the original motion, this time asking that the debt ceiling be $130B, as against the previously sought US$150B.The Finance Minister who also espoused the virtues of the Amaila Falls Hydro Electric Project said that the $130B figure is what Sithe Global is asking for and this had been communicated to the AFC.In seeking to make assurances that the Guarantee would not be carte blanche and applicable to any Public Corporation, the Finance Minister informed the House that in further amending the motion, government is willing to include that it will only apply to GPL’s obligations to Amaila Falls Hydro Inc.AFC Leader Khemraj Ramjattan, in his presentation to the debate, said that his party was in support of Hydro Power for Guyana, but still harboured concerns about the current project.He once again asserted that his party lacked the necessary capability to adequately scrutinize the project and as such, would prefer to await the due diligence on the part of the IDB.The IDB in its studies is looking to ascertain the ability of GPL to take on the project as well as the economic viability of the project among other aspects.Ramjattan said that his party would consequently be willing to provide a “lifeline” for the project. He said that in light of a guarantee required by Sithe Global, the party is only willing to increase the debt ceiling to US$50B, with the option of having this reviewed in three months, at which time the IDB is expected to make its pronouncements on the project.