Georgetown: With the US$15.4M Amaila Falls Road project, which was handed to Makeshwar ‘Fip’ Motilall and Synergy Holdings Inc, being delayed by several months Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr. Roger Luncheon is still insisting that financial closure for the Hydro Electric Project will not be affected by the delay.
The road is to pave the way for the construction of the Amaila Falls Hydro Electric Project which has seen estimates increase from US$450M to a staggering US$835M.
Head of the Presidential Secretariat told this publication recently that the financial closure has not been made as yet “and there will continue to be opportunities to synchronize the road conclusion and the beginning of the hydro construction.” The beginning of the substantive project in the form of the Hydro Electric project depends on financial closure which has not occurred as yet.
“So we are not locked in,” Dr. Luncheon stated while illustrating his point, he explained that should there have been a drop dead date such as February 2nd, then there would have had to be financial closure by then.
“The completion of the road is not linked to financial closure…Financial closure depends on the parties involved; Government, those who are financing, those who are constructing agreeing on a financial package to get the work done … the road is not included in those considerations.”
He explained that the road is a ‘vehicle’ to ensure that when the construction (of the Hydro-Electric project) starts it is not encumbered by access difficulties …”so there is a bit of a room, there is a bit of possibility for some movements to take place.”
Dr. Luncheon, during his most recent post Cabinet press briefing disclosed that the new completion date for the road project is now March or April in 2012.
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