Georgetown: Amid the tense standoff between Venezuela and Guyana over the former’s recent illegal claims on this country’s maritime space, Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge has revealed that the Nicolás Maduro Administration had blocked a Brazilian firm from conducting prefeasibility studies to determine Guyana’s potential to develop hydropower stations in the Upper and Middle Mazaruni, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni).
Greenidge made the remarks last week when he addressed the National Assembly on the maritime and border controversy. Guyana has since indicated it will be pursuing judicial settlement of the decades-old controversy and has already informed United Nations General Secretary, Ban Ki-moon on its position. “I will make only passing reference to the many attempts at hindering development of this region, including Venezuela’s intervention seeking to prevent the implementation of the hydroelectric project in the Upper Mazaruni area and the pressure Venezuela has exerted at various times to discourage foreign investment in the region. All of these acts of military, paramilitary and economic aggression have been well-documented,” Greenidge told the House during the opening of the 11th Parliament.
A Brazilian consortium had agreed to provide US$45 million to conduct the prefeasibility studies to determine Guyana’s potential to develop hydropower stations in the Upper and Middle Mazaruni. Queiroz Galvao (QG) and OAS are the
two multibillion-dollar Brazilian companies that make up the consortium. They were expected to commence the prefeasibility study in April 2014. The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government had embarked on an exercise to brief stakeholders on the undertaking of the prefeasibility and feasibility studies, which will determine the potential of hydropower development in the area of 1500 megawatts and 3000 megawatts respectively. During the execution of the prefeasibility and feasibility assessments, hydrology and aerial topographic studies would have been conducted to secure precise data on the areas of study. Hydrology involves the measuring and graphing of river behaviour and river flow within the district over a period of 12 months. To facilitate such, the consortium would have been required to establish substations at strategic locations within the Upper and Middle Mazaruni.
However, addressing the National Assembly, Greenidge said just last year, as part of its development programme and in pursuit of initiatives already agreed to within the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), Guyana and Brazil began a programme that involved, inter alia, the examination of hydropower development in parts of the Essequibo region.
”The Government of Venezuela, also a member of UNASUR, formally objected to this development and requested both the Brazilian Government and the Brazilian firm undertaking the feasibility studies to desist from carrying any action in what the Venezuelan Government described as being ‘unquestionably Venezuelan territory’.” The Minister said a similar sentiment was communicated to Guyana, noting that Venezuela insisted that its consent was required before any significant action could take place in Guyana’s territory.
Boasting of the consortium’s ability to execute the multibillion-dollar hydro project if found feasible, a Director had pointed out that both QG and OAS have an annual revenue of US$3.5 billion or a collective US$7 billion in over 23 countries, spanning South America to Central America, Africa, South East Asia and Russia. They are specialised in infrastructural development, but more notably hydropower.
Guyana Energy Agency head, Dr Mahender Sharma had said at the time that the prefeasibility and feasibility studies in the Upper and Middle Mazaruni will identify the social, environmental and economic impacts of hydropower in this magnitude. Size of the reservoir, storage required, power output, how much power could be generated at any one time over the cycle of the project, expected energy output, cost of construction, cost of operation and the cost of transmission lines are among variables to be determined at the end of the feasibility study.
Preempting the findings of the prefeasibility and feasibility studies, Dr Sharma was convinced that tremendous benefits would derive from such an initiative in Guyana. He said the proposed hydropower plants in Region Seven would not only provide cheap but clean electricity, boosting the social and economic sectors through direct and indirect job creation. Experts have said that Guyana is the only country in South America without hydropower, although it is the Caricom country with the greatest potential for hydropower. Guyana has a potential of 7100-7600 megawatts of power.
You must be logged in to post a comment.