US$422M contract signed to enable power transmission from GtE project   

The Government of Guyana today signed a US$422.2M ($90B) contract with Power China and Kalpataru for the installation of power transmission lines and the establishment of five new power substations.

The signing, which took place at the Office of the Prime Minister, saw the awarding of lots 1 and 3 to Power China for a value of US$265M and lot 2 to Kalpataru for a tune of US$156.5M.

The lots include 155 km of 230 kV double-circuit transmission lines as well as 167 km of 69 kV double-circuit transmission lines. The 230 kV lines will interconnect from the Goedverwagting substation to a new substation being constructed in Williamsburg, East Berbice.

Meanwhile, the 69 kV lines will include the replacement of the current 69 kV line on the railway embankment and the interconnection to the new substation in East Berbice.

The new substations will be located at La Bon Intention (LBI), Enmore, Trafalgar, Williamsburg, and Number 53 Village. In addition to the construction of five new substations, the Kingston substation will also be upgraded under this contract.

The project, which is a sub-component of the Wale Gas to Energy (GtE) Project, will enable the transmission of power from the gas-to-energy projects through the Goedverwagting substation to consumers.

Minister within the Public Works Ministry, Deodat Indar, on Thursday inspected the ongoing construction of the Goedverwagting substation. The substation’s switchyard will receive 230 kV from the gas-to-energy facility, which will then be stepped down to 69 kV using 375 MVA transformers.

That 69 kV will be fed into 60 MVA transformers and further reduced to 13.8 kV, which will then be distributed to 13.8 kV switchgear for consumer use.