EPA conducts environmental audit at Kato’s hydropower site

– $450M contract signed under APNU/AFC to construct mini hydropower plant

Compliance officers of the Public Infrastructure, Transportation, and Tourism departments of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently conducted an environmental audit at Kato’s hydro dam site in the mountainous landscapes of Kato, in Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni), the EPA has said in a brief statement.
That exercise was aimed at evaluating the impact the Kato hydro dam has on the surrounding ecosystem, in order to ensure it aligns with environmental conservation goals.

“The hydro dam is expected to provide renewable electricity for nearby indigenous villages in the future,” the EPA has said in that brief statement.
The Kato mini hydropower and irrigation project is situated close to the border with Brazil. The hydropower plant would use the water from the Kato waterfalls at the Chiung River close to Kato village to provide about 320kW of electric power, which would be used to power the pumping station to lift irrigation water from the river into a storage reservoir connected to a gravity irrigation system.
Electricity would also be supplied to the secondary school to be built in the village of Kato, to the village of Kato itself, and to Paramakatoi village some 18km distant. An electronic facility and transmission lines will also be installed.
A $450 million contract was awarded in 2019 for supply and installation of the hydropower plant at the Chiung River at Kato Village in Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni). The US$2,250,880 contract for the design, supply and installation of the plant was awarded to B&J Civil Works under the then Public Infrastructure Ministry. It was understood that the project would run for a period of 18 months, with a 12-month defects and liability period after the project was completed, in order to ensure that the contractor would correct any faults at his own expense.
Upon taking office in 2020, President Dr Irfaan Ali had said the project was potentially at risk. During a meeting with residents of that community, he had noted that when the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government took office, it found that the contractor had not even mobilised at the site. He had nevertheless told the gathering that the PPP would do an assessment on the possibility of installing a mini hydropower plant in the community.
“Part of our energy plan for Guyana is to ensure that every community has access to energy. Whether it’s mini hydros; whether it’s solar, or the coastland investment in natural gas, our focus is to ensure every single community has access to energy,” Ali had said.