‘Building for the future’: US$422M in contracts inked for transmission lines needed for Gas-to-Energy Project

Contracts worth a whopping US$422 million were signed on Friday for the extension of transmission lines for the Guyana Power and Light (GPL). This is the single largest investment in GPL’s infrastructure. This investment will help with the generation and distribution of power from the mega 300 megawatt (MW) Gas-to-Energy power plant.

The contracts were awarded to Power China and Kalpataru. It will be done in three lots, with Lots 1 and 3 awarded to Power China (US$256.7 million) and Lot 2 awarded to Kalpataru (US$156.5 million).

Minister within the Ministry of Public Works Deodat Indar said the signing of the contracts marks the start of building infrastructure for the future.

“This signing today is part of the design to improve the energy infrastructure. This is what we mean when we say we are building infrastructure for the future,” Indar said.

The contracts include the construction of 155-kilometre 230 double circuit transmission lines, 167 KM of 69 KV double circuit transmission line, the construction of five new substations and the upgrade of the Kingston Substation.

The new substations will be at La Bonne Intention, Enmore, Trafalgar and Williamsburg and East Berbice. The projects are expected to be completed in one year. To this end, Minister Indar urged the contractors to stick to the timeline.

“The timeline is one year and we are holding you to it.

“A lot of times we end up working with competitive bidders who are awarded and then when they are awarded the contract, the haste, you don’t see it in the project,” Indar highlighted.

The minister further revealed that a lot of aspects of the Gas-to-Energy project are nearing completion.

“The substations will be completed in June, the control centre will be completed in August, all the parts are being completed to receive the power, so we want to make it, so when it comes it is distributed to the country and that is why we are doing this today,” Indar explained.

The demand for electricity continues to grow daily as Indar revealed some 13,974 new customers requested power from GPL in 2024. Currently, the Demerara Berbice Interconnected System accommodates some 230,000 customers.

Indar also noted that there is more reliability in power supply with fewer complaints about blackouts on social media.

“That tells you about the growth in the country, in housing, in the oil and gas development, in other developments,” Indar said.

In 2024, the grid saw an increase of 124 MW to address growing demand for electricity. The DBIS reached a peak of 205 MW last year and is expected to reach 250 MW for 2025.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips said more communities will have reliable and stable electricity.