APNU MP Mahipaul Slams Government Over Wales Gas-to-Energy Project Delays, Demands Transparency
By Antonio Dey | HGP Nightly News|
GEORGETOWN, GUYANA – Ganesh Mahipaul, Member of Parliament for A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), has launched a fierce critique against the Office of the Prime Minister, accusing the administration of mismanaging the multi-billion-dollar Wales Gas-to-Energy (GtE) project and misleading the Guyanese public with shifting timelines.
The MP’s sharp rebuke follows an update from the Prime Minister’s Office claiming that long-standing contractual bottlenecks with contractor Lindsayca Guyana Inc. have finally been resolved.
The government’s revised schedule indicates that the first power turbine is now expected to come online by late 2026, with full gas turbine operations pushed to early 2027. This stands in stark contrast to the administration’s initial, heavily publicized promise to slash national electricity costs by mid-2025.
“The amount of time they spoke about that project and made promises to the Guyanese people—we were supposed to get the reduction in electricity costs by mid-2025, and we are still waiting for that,” Mahipaul stated on Friday. “We are hearing late 2026 now. The Prime Minister should focus on actual completion instead of making empty promises.”
To bypass lengthy arbitration and expedite construction, the government announced it has entered into a dispute-resolution framework with Lindsayca. A formal ruling from the Dispute Avoidance/Adjudication Board regarding costly soil stabilization issues and project delay clauses is expected by January 2025.
Crucially, both parties have agreed to waive historical liquidated damages. While the government frames this as a pragmatic step to keep the project moving, critics question why the contractor is being spared financial penalties for missing key milestones on a taxpayer-funded venture.
Mahipaul heavily criticized the culture of “secrecy” surrounding the $1.1 billion USD mega-project, calling for the immediate public release of the GtE investment plan and all underlying contracts.
“Why are you spending taxpayers’ money while entering into contracts with so much secrecy?” Mahipaul demanded to know, insisting that full disclosure is the only way to restore public confidence in the integrity of the project.
The Wales Gas-to-Energy project is the centerpiece of the PPP/C administration’s economic strategy. The massive infrastructure network includes:
- A 300 MW power plant and a Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) facility at Wales, West Bank, Demerara.
- Extensive transmission lines and substations.
- A new National Control Center (NCC) at Goedverwagting, East Coast Demerara.
The state maintains that despite the delays, the massive $1.1 billion USD investment will ultimately cut consumer electricity tariffs by 50%, providing historic financial relief to households and significantly lowering the cost of doing business in Guyana. However, with the finish line continuously moving, the opposition maintains that the project has become a textbook case of state overpromising and underdelivering.
