THE process to develop the country’s vast hydro-power resources is picking up momentum.


Funding for harnessing electricity from Amalia Falls, about 40 kilometres north-west of the Kaieteur National Park, has been obtained.


The project has been upgraded to produce 154MW of electricity and work is scheduled to start early next year for completion within three years.


This was disclosed yesterday by President of Synergy Holdings Inc in the United States, Mr. Makeshwar Fip Motilall, who has been the moving force since 1996 in completing the feasibility studies and working with international partners to bring the Amalia Falls Hydro electricity project, also known as AFHEP, to reality.


Mr. Motilall said yesterday that over US$400M will be provided for its complete construction by Sithe Global Power, an international company engaged in the development of electric generation facilities in several countries.


The U.S.-based Guyanese businessman was accompanied during an interview with the Chronicle by Mr. Christopher Kelly, Project Manager of Sithe Global Power.


Synergy Holdings will be a small partner to Sithe which will be providing the equity for the billion-dollar project


Motilall said that Engineering, Procurement and Construction bids (EPC bids) for the project will be closed on October 30th; contractors will be identified shortly after, and work should get into full swing in the first quarter of next year.


He disclosed that bids should have been submitted for a September deadline, but had been pushed back to October since the investors and the Government of Guyana had agreed that giving the bidders an extension of time would be to the benefit of all concerned.


Three of the five international bidders who have also asked for extensions had recently visited the site on the Potaro for a first hand look as a precursor activity for computing their final bids.


Harza Engineering, a Company which did the feasibility surveys for the AFHEP in 1998, will evaluate the bids.


“So we expect their bidding prices by 30th October. Once that comes in we will look at the combination of price, delivery schedule and compliance, and then choose the best; and then we negotiate with them and we should get going by the first quarter in 2009,” he said.


Makeshwar said the EPC will construct the AFHEP in its entirety, while Sithe and the Engineering Consultants will oversee their work to make sure that it is being built according to specifications.


Sithe Global is an 80 per cent owned subsidiary of the American Black Stone company, and currently the major shareholder in a 250 megawatts (MW) hydro-project underway in Uganda.


Kelly said that Sithe invests and builds power plants all over the world.


The Company is building a power plant in Canada, with a capacity for generating 900MW, and another in San Roque in the Phillipines capable of generating 450 MW.


Motilall made the comments yesterday on the eve of a meeting today which targets local contractors who will be required to provide a support role to the international Contractor.

Guyana Chronicle - Wed 24th, September, 2008

How truthful is this? Vierra is claiming that this is another one of the sweetheart deal given out by the government in secrecy.

http://www.tonyvguy.com/admin2/visitors/view.aspx?art=2007-04-30

Synergy
(Aired 30 April 2007)

This country very badly needs a cheap and reliable source of electricity we will never be able to build any industries our economy or indeed the country itself without it.

Nowhere in our national situation is the fact that we pay too much for electricity not an issue.

In scandal after scandal surrounding the generation of power in this country since 1992, our Prime Minister has blundered through enough mistakes to write a book on how not to run an electricity corporation.

We generate very little electricity for a country with our population and size, for example we generate around the same amount of electricity as Barbados around 800 million kilowatt hours a year for a population of 280,000 people, Trinidad for example generates nearly 6 billion kilowatt hours a year to industrialise their economy nearly six times more electrical power than we do.

Some fool will of course tell me that Trinidad has oil, my response is that we have something which is much, much better we have Hydropower.

Some years ago our Hydropower potential was calculated as around 7,500 megawatts.

For those who want to know what 7500 megawatts of electricity can do, it can supply the electrical needs of all the Caribbean islands combined, including Trinidad and Cuba.

Recently I was given some documents, these documents were 1. A Memorandum of Understanding [MOU] between the Government of Guyana and a company called Synergy Holdings Inc., and document 2 was an analysis and a background check of Synergy Holdings Inc.

When Synergy first surfaced in Guyana they were in a joint venture partnership with the highly respected Harza Group and we all understood that this small one man company was only a front for the mighty Harza group which had built the Guri dam and had over 4000 engineers; in 2000 Harza merged with another US company and decided that they were no longer interested in running behind the Guyana Government who did not seem to want to stop playing the ludicrous games they were playing with ESBI the Irish Company which was running our Guyana Power and Light at the time, and who refused to sign an agreement with synergy and Harza to buy power from the Hydro project at Amelia.

So we were left with Synergy alone. But that was like taking the coffee out of the coffee, if you do that you're left with water.

Synergy is essentially a real Estate company which is owned by one Makeshwar Fip Motilall. Once I have told you the name you know exactly what is going on.

Synergy has never built any Hydro project anywhere in the world, in fact Synergy which is a privately owned company and is not required to divulge its audited financial statements, however according to information listed on private corporate Financial databases, Synergy's annual sales for 2005 were listed in the amount of 121,000 Guyana dollars. And the company lists itself as having two employees flip Motilall and his brother.

A "press release" had referred to flip Motilall as a chemical Engineer but there is no evidence at the American Institute of Chemical Engineers that Motilall is registered anywhere in the US as being a chemical engineer.

Motilall is a small time operator the civil litigations against him and Synergy attests to that, for example on the 9th January 2004 K&M electric filed a lawsuit against Synergy for $2500 US dollars, in June 1998 one Robert E. Thielman DDS sued Motilall in small claims court for 231 US dollars! In 1995 allied Medical accounts control filed a civil lawsuit against Motilall for $906 dollars.

These are of course small claims, and there is no record that either flip Motilall nor Synergy were ever embroiled in any legal matter of a criminal nature.

Motilall however was found to be a shareholder of a company called Diversified Manufacturing Corp. which was reprimanded in October 2005 by the US Food and Drug Administration for significant deviations from the US current food manufacturing practices.

When the Harza group pulled out from the Amelia Project Flip then lost my goodwill since he co-opted the following partners, MaxPower International Corporation registered under the laws of the state of Massachusetts USA and cj [common c common j] Independent, LLC a company incorporated in New Jersey USA.

I am not saying that these companies do not exist, but Harza, Synergy's former partner, is a respected international company with a track record in Hydroelectric Dam construction but I am unable to find flip's new partners, which are specifically mentioned in the 2006 MOU with Sam Hinds to build the hydro plant at Amelia, anywhere on the Inetrnet. They may be there but I can't find it; enter Tony Vieira in your search engine of Google and see what happens!

But the conundrums do not end there, the MOU tells us that we are guaranteeing Synergy and therefore flip Motilall who is the sole shareholder of Synergy and their partners MaxPower and cj [if they exist] 550,000 US dollars a month for the next 35 years to supply us with 100 megawatts of power from Hydro. Ladies and gentlemen you tell me what I can legitimately conclude from these shenanigans. This means that Motilall and his invisible Partners can take this ridiculous Memorandum of Understanding to any Bank anywhere in the world and get the money to build this Hydro plant!

I believe in private enterprise, and I believe that we should privatise the entire GP&L, all of it, and put it in private hands and let the PUC demand that they charge us 10 US cents per kilowatt hour for electricity, starting tomorrow!

But in this case even if we privatised GP&L I would build the Hydro power facility with a soft loan from the IDB. I make this statement since as a soft loan from the IDB or the World Bank we would have 20-25 years to pay back the Loan at a very small interest rate compared to a private investor, and as such we can amortise the line plant over a 25 year period instead of a ten year period which a private investor would need, that means that we can start selling the power cheaper from day one. This project which is so important to our national wellbeing should not be contracted out to such inexperienced and cash strapped investors, we need investors with deep pockets so since we are unfortunately in this position where we cannot attract such an investor we should build this Hydro power facility ourselves and hire a competent management firm such as Tate in or sugar industry to manage it for us.

The land is ours, a 100 megawatt Hydro project at Amelia can create a lake nearly 100 square kilometres in diameter, the land on which the poles from the hydro project to Georgetown will be placed will be ours, the land on which the dam itself will be built is ours and the Amelia falls Hydro Project should be required to pay rent for those privileges I am not sure that the agreement makes provision for that.

Everything should be regulated on our behalf by the PUC this does not appear anywhere in the MOU. I can list numerous other such irregularities.

But it is this which I find the most reprehensible, this is a democracy, we the people in this country own Amelia falls and we own the land on which the lake for the Hydro plant will be formed, why should any agreement between our Prime Minister, GPL and Motilall contain such stringent confidentially clauses, there are 4 such clauses ladies and gentlemen, I will read for you the complete clause 4 provisions its says this "upon request of any delivering party, the respective receiving Parties will promptly return to it or destroy [as it may specify] all copies [including Electronic copies] of any confidential information, but may retain any notes, analyses, or other documents based on or incorporating any confidential information.

This same secrecy caused Sam Hinds and this nation great grief with Arairoma and ESBI just to name two, one would have thought that he, and you and I, since by our silence we are condoning this nonsense of his keeping us completely in the dark as to how our affairs are being run, would have learnt by no

The Amaila Falls Hydroelectric Project (AFHEP)
Synergy Holdings Inc. is involved in this project as the developer to design, build, own and operate a hydroelectric plant in Guyana.

This project will generate electricity for the national grid (Guyana Power & Light) with future expansion capacity to power major industrial growth projects within the country. Current demands also exist in the bauxite and gold mining industries.

Guyana

Fig.1 - Location

Guyana is located on the northeastern coast of South America between latitudes of 1° and 8° (Fig. 1). Guyana has 83,000 square miles (215,000 km2) putting it at a comparable size with Great Britain or the state of Minnesota. If is bordered to the east by Suriname, to the south and west by Brazil and to the west by Venezuela. If faces out to the Caribbean Sea and, as a matter of fact, it is considered to be much more of a Caricom (Caribbean Community) country than a South American country.

The capital city of Guyana is Georgetown and it is located on the Atlantic/ Caribbean coast, at a latitude of 7° north of the Equator. The narrow coastal belt has a moderate climate (75° to 85°) with two wet seasons. Inland there are tropical forests and savannas. The highest point is Mt. Roraima at 9,030 feet located on the northwestern boarder with Brazil and Venezuela.

The climate is tropical with the overall annual rainfall in excess of 80 inches. The mean annual rainfall in the project area exceeds 150 inches! [Read more on Guyana]

Project Location and Access

Fig.2 - Project Layout

The Amaila site is located on the Kuribrong River, a tributary of the Potaro River in west central Guyana (see map). The nearest point of access is the airstrip at Kaieteur Falls on the Potaro River, approximately 15 miles to the south. An overland trail exists from Kaieteur to Amaila. Access is also provided over land by an all-weather road through Tumatumari on the Potaro River and on to Mahdia and Kangaruma. River access along the Potaro-Kuribrong Rivers to the foot of Amaila Falls involves several portages around rapids and waterfalls. The road from Tumatumari was recently extended to Mahdia/Kangaruma that brings you closer to the site but approximately 30 miles of additional roads will need to be built to the top of Amaila Falls.

Development History
The project is based on an initial study that was carried out between 1974-1976 in Guyana to explore the hydroelectric potential in the country under a grant from the United Nations. The Hydroelectric Power Survey (the Survey) was conducted by Montreal Engineering over a two-year period. A number of sites were identified and these were further refined to three “most promising” sites. Further studies by the developer in 1997- 2001 related to the demand for power, the economics, environmental, ecological and political impacts of developing each of these sites has led to Amaila as the location of choice.

In 1997, Synergy identified a dire need for electrical power generation in Guyana and sought to fill this need by harnessing the hydro potential of the country. After a review of the three most promising sites identified in the Montreal Engineering study and reviewing the current demand for power in the country, the Amaila site was surveyed from the air and videotaped. The overland road from Georgetown to Mahdia (within 30 miles of this site) was also driven to review the geology and geography of the surrounding area.

A revised design was conceptualized by Synergy Holdings Inc, in conjunction with Kleinschmidt & Associates (hydro-engineering firm) in 1997. This design was partially based on the information in the Montreal Engineering pre-feasibility study of Amaila and the data gathered from the above field trips.

This study looked specifically at reducing the environmental impact and cost of the project while incorporating the current generation equipment that exists on the grid. In short, the KA study customized the initial, detailed engineering study done by Montreal Engineering to meet the current demand for power and to reduce the environmental impact of the project.

A reduced Amaila design with phased development (100 MW expandable to 165 MW) was decided on. This new design meets the current need for power in Guyana and offers duplicity to ensure reliability of our supply to the grid.

In 1998, Synergy Holdings Inc. joint-ventured with Harza Engineering Company (now called MW Harza Global) to fund and perform a detailed feasibility study and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the 1st Phase of this reduced AFHEP project (Phase I). The developers agreed to review the expandability of the project at least to Phase II. A loan form the US Trade Development Agency (US TDA) was applied for and received to cover approximately 50% of the cost of this feasibility study with the developers paying the rest.

Between 1999 and 2001, A full feasibility study and EIA was carried out on site including surveying, drilling in excess of 400 meters, and several site visits by Harza engineers to evaluate the drill cores and the physical characteristics of the site and to install river gauging equipment downstream of the falls. A man-camp on site and an access road crew in excess of 50 personnel worked on this project for several months. Drilling equipment were flown in by helicopter, supplies came in by river and the ATV access road.

Following the on-site investigations and mapping several alternate designs were looked at and the developers chose a final design that offered the lowest construction cost while maintaining the expandability of the project.

Project Design & Description
The Amaila storage dam site would be located near the top of Amaila Falls and would impound the waters of both the Kuribrong and Amaila Rivers. The area upstream of the falls is flat, forested and with bedrock near the surface. There are no inhabitants to be relocated or other known environmental concerns.

The river drops from the escarpment over Amaila Falls vertically approximately 200 feet, and continues in a series of rapids and falls for almost two miles before reaching placid water at an elevation of 175 feet. The total drop is about 1,200 feet. During the course of the falls the river changes direction from east to north, thus helping to shorten the water conduit system for the power development.

In the lower elevations the walls of the escarpment are flatter but these steepen sharply with elevation until the valley walls are nearly vertical at the top. The Amaila Falls is not a spectacularly scenic vista (as compared with Kaieteur Falls), and as such it is not considered a potential tourist attraction.

The flooded area of the reservoir would be approximately 8.8 square miles at full supply level of 1,400 feet and is heavily forested. The reservoir would be cleared for one-half mile upstream of the dam. The reservoir would provide a change from the prevailing green of the jungle and with the access roads etc. it would provide a body of water useable for recreation (e.g. fishing, boating) and transportation.

There is no technical or environmental reason why Amaila Falls Hydroelectric Project (AFHEP) should not be built. The huge, long term savings in foreign exchange and the reduction of carbon emissions from the current diesel generators are powerful additional economic and environmental reasons why this project needs to be constructed.

Interim Development Period
Following the feasibility study works described above, the Project attracted equity investors and multi-lateral Banks to finance the construction of Phase I of AFHEP. A Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) could not be finalized with the then privatized utility in Guyana- GPL. During this period (2002- 2004) additional work on the transmission line, reliability studies and work on the financial models continued. The hydro-power license was extended by the Government to allow development work on the financial package to continue.

Present Situation
With the rising price of oil, AFHEP became a necessity for Guyana to have since the country was spending approximately 25% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to purchase fuel and most of this was going to fossil fuelled electrical generation equipment. In mid-2005, serious talks were restarted between Synergy, GPL (which had reverted back to government ownership) and the government of Guyana in an attempt to finally put this project on a fast track development schedule. By this time additional generation was required by GPL to meet increased demand for power and the number of self-generators in the country was increasing.

As the development phase of the project had moved away form its technical emphasis and the focus was more on the financial engineering and commercial aspects of the deal, Synergy joint ventured with MaxPower International and Cj Independent to put together the financial package that will work for the Project. MaxPower and Cj Independent has successfully developed and financed a number of power projects in many countries of the world and they were familiar with the requirements of the world financial markets to make this project bankable.

Following a series of meetings with Government, an MOU was signed between the developers and Government on 23rd May 2006 outlining their agreement to proceed with the development of AFHEP. The schedule that was agreed upon has the start of construction of AFHEP in August 2007 with commercial operation on the last quarter 2010. In the interim, Synergy and its partners agreed to supply a thermal power plant of 25 MW (to be operational in March 2007) as a way to meet GPL’s demand for power until the hydro-power plant can be built. The hydro project will assimilate the thermal plant upon its commissioning and the 25 MW thermal power plant will most likely operate in a back-up capacity after 2010.

PRESS RELEASES
Hydro-power scheme draws closer
By Mark Ramotar

24th July 2006 Presidential Press Conference- Tower Hotel, Guyana


DREAM CLOSER: President of Synergy Holdings Inc. Mr. Makeshwar Fip Motilall, addressing the hydro-power forum yesterday. Seated at the head table from left are Head of the Privatisation Unit, Mr. Winston Brassington, President Bharrat Jagdeo, Prime Minister Sam Hinds and CEO of Guyana Power and Light Inc. Mr. Bharat Dindyal.

THE Government of Guyana, Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) and U.S.-based Synergy Holdings Inc., are moving closer to realising a “national aspiration” which entails development of a multi-billion-dollar, 100 MW hydro-power station at Amaila Falls.

This development of the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project, located in the West Central interior of Guyana, is estimated to cost more than US$300M.

The current status of the project, which has been on the cards for several years and which faced several stumbling blocks, and the vision of hydro-power for the future were outlined by President Bharrat Jagdeo, Prime Minister Samuel Hinds and President of Synergy Holdings Inc. Mr. Fip Motilall at a forum yesterday afternoon at the Hotel Tower in Georgetown

It was noted that financial closing and ground breaking are targeted for August 1, 2007 while commercial operation is scheduled to begin by December 15, 2010.

The project entails the installation of transmission lines from Amaila Falls to the Sophia sub-station in Georgetown and Prime Minister Hinds said the price for electrical energy delivered at Sophia is capped at 7.5 US cents per kWh (kilo-watt hour).

President Jagdeo and Prime Minister Hinds both made it clear that the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the Government, GPL and Synergy in May this year can be terminated by the Government and GPL before August 1 next year if the estimated delivered price comes in greater than the target of 7.5 US cents/kWh.

Over the last dozen years, potential developers have been pursuing interests in five different potential hydro-power sites in Guyana.

Mr. Hinds noted that Synergy Inc. headed by Motilall – a Guyanese-born living in the U.S., began working with a number of North American partners as early as 1996, to pursue a hydropower development at Amaila Falls to supply the local electricity grid.

Synergy is committed to accepting the lowest cost financing for the project and Motilall said the bid documents are almost completed and will be going out to tender shortly.

He also indicated that when the need develops, the Amaila Falls Hydropower plant can be upgraded to about 165 MW in a second stage development.

President Jagdeo, in his remarks at yesterday’s forum, noted that the development of Guyana’s hydro-power potential has been a “long national aspiration”. He said past attempts to develop the country’s vast hydro-power resources have been met with various challenges.

“At present the Amaila Falls hydro-power project is the most advanced hydro-power project... this project will also provide affordable reliable energy that will act as a springboard for investment and development in many areas,” the President told those gathered at the forum.

He was also optimistic that the availability of reliable and affordable electrical energy will “provide the impetus for exponential growth in this great country”.

The potential for hydro-power in Guyana is estimated to be in the region of 7,000 MW, representing a major opportunity for Guyana, both as a primary source of power for domestic consumption and as a place for the development of large scale industries which require significant electricity capacities such as aluminum smelters and the production of hydrogen based fuels.

Mr. Jagdeo noted that hydro-power – renewable energy produced from water – has great potential in Guyana with more than 67 possible hydro sites in the country.

“Hydro-power development in Guyana has always been hindered by the high initial cost associated with the construction of the power stations and the transmission facilities,” the Guyanese Head of State said, adding that the government is mindful of the many benefits that flow with hydro-power.

He noted that Guyana, like many other nations, continue to battle the global problem of increasing oil prices, the effects of which affect every stratum of society and threatens progress and economic development.

The price for diesel has skyrocketed from US$35 per barrel in 2003 to US$91 per barrel in 2006, President Jagdeo said. Noting that at present, petroleum products form the primary source of energy in Guyana, he recalled that in 1994, petroleum imports accounted for some 16% of Guyana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and this figure escalated to 25% of GDP in 2004.

He said projections suggest that this trend will continue as the price for fuel on the world market continues to rise, coupled with the fact that petroleum resources are being depleted. President Jagdeo said this phenomenon presents a significant challenge for Guyana.

“Guyana’s dependence for imported petroleum means that the country is vulnerable to international oil prices and diversification of energy sources is required to reduce this vulnerability,” the President contended.

According to him, the Government is already actively encouraging major alternative energy projects in Guyana.

In this regard, he alluded to the Skeldon sugar estate co-generation plan, which when it comes on stream, is expected to add at least 10 MW of power to the national grid by 2008. Discussions are also ongoing between GPL and the developers of the Hope Beach Wind Farm which is expected to produce an additional 4 MW of power before the end of 2007, President Jagdeo said.

Among those who also spoke at yesterday’s forum were Chief Executive Officer of GPL, Mr. Bharat Dindyal and Motilall.

quote:

Motilall is a small time operator the civil litigations against him and Synergy attests to that, for example on the 9th January 2004 K&M electric filed a lawsuit against Synergy for $2500 US dollars, in June 1998 one Robert E. Thielman DDS sued Motilall in small claims court for 231 US dollars! In 1995 allied Medical accounts control filed a civil lawsuit against Motilall for $906 dollars.

These guys building a hydro power plant in Guyana?You have to be kidding me.

quote:

Originally posted by BONUS:

quote:

Motilall is a small time operator the civil litigations against him and Synergy attests to that, for example on the 9th January 2004 K&M electric filed a lawsuit against Synergy for $2500 US dollars, in June 1998 one Robert E. Thielman DDS sued Motilall in small claims court for 231 US dollars! In 1995 allied Medical accounts control filed a civil lawsuit against Motilall for $906 dollars.

These guys building a hydro power plant in Guyana?You have to be kidding me.

a bankrupt accountant was able to get GT&T not but a few months after he stated in US courts he had no cash. Do you see something you want to build or buy? Take a proposal to the government and see how far you get.