Advisor to the Office of the President, Kevin Hogan, said the Amaila Falls Hydro Project could still become a major success for Guyana, as it was integrally linked to the country’s sustainable development and future.
Hogan said the project is seen as a transformative initiative that could lower energy costs, reduce emissions, and boost business productivity. Despite being overlooked by those who failed to see its full potential, it remains a symbol of what might have been and what has subsequently emerged in its absence.
Guyana is now ready to advance its green agenda at the upcoming Global Biodiversity Alliance Summit, scheduled to take place from July 23 to 25, 2025, at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC) in Liliendaal.
In Episode Three of the “United for Biodiversity: The Alliance Podcast,” Hogan offered his poignant insight into the discontinuation of the hydro project.
“It’s a real tragedy that the people of Guyana didn’t get to benefit from that because it would have transformed people’s lives and made businesses much more successful. So, it was a real tragedy that decisions were made not to go ahead with it,” Hogan said.
He further explained that while he did not lead the proposal for the hydro project, the team behind it did an excellent job of putting together a robust plan.
However, while the project had the opportunity to be a momentous success, Hogan believes that the gas-to-energy project is the best way forward to fulfil current demands for electricity.
“The right approach now has to be gas to energy because a lot of the permits and a lot of the hard work that had gone on in Amaila all expired,” Hogan explained.
He said that pursuing the project at this time would require the process to start anew. However, Hogan remains optimistic about pursuing the Amaila Hydro Project sometime in the near future.
The Amaila Falls Hydropower Plan was the flagship project of the PPP/C government before 2015. The project would have delivered 165 megawatts (MW) of clean and reliable energy to the national grid.
However, while in opposition, both A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance for Change (AFC) expressed serious concerns about its cost, feasibility, and other issues. This opposition led Sithe Global, the main investor, to withdraw from the Region Eight project on August 9, 2013.
Since APNU and AFC held a one-seat majority in the 2011 Parliament, they were able to block the project from going forward.
Although Vice President Jagdeo had urged the APNU+AFC government in 2015 to revisit the project and restart discussions, Minister of State Joseph Harmon announced in October 2017 that the project had been cancelled.
However, all hope was not lost. When the People’s Progressive Party resumed office in 2020, damage control was once again enacted. The monies that were allocated for the project in 2021 and 2022 were redirected into solar investments for Linden, Essequibo, and Berbice.
While these investments are noteworthy, Hogan believes, “It could have done an awful lot more than it did had it gone into Amaila.”
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