President Irfaan Ali says the government is not presently considering an additional payment to Lindsayca for the completion of the delayed Wales gas-to-energy project, although he confirmed that the contractor has requested more resources.
Ali addressed the issue at his press conference on Monday after being asked whether additional funds were being considered for the company.
He said the project team was paying careful attention to the matter and that the government had received a commitment for the delivery of the first power by the end of December, followed by other milestones.
“I know that there has been a request for additional resources. That has not been discussed,” Ali said.
“At this time, government is not considering an additional payment … There is no discussion on that as we speak,” he added, repeating “as we speak”.
The President did not state the amount being sought, why Lindsayca needed additional resources or whether the request was connected to claims already being pursued by the contractor.
Ali’s acknowledgement is the first public confirmation from the government that a request for additional resources has been made, though his response left open the possibility of it being considered later.
The government’s newly released 2026 Mid-Year Report says the first gas turbine remains on track to become operational by the end of this year. It projects that all gas turbines will be commissioned and the combined-cycle power plant completed during the first half of 2027.
The latest timeline represents another delay for a project that was initially expected to deliver 228 megawatts of simple-cycle power by the end of 2024 and the full 300 MW combined-cycle plant by the end of 2025.
The engineering, procurement and construction contract for the power plant and natural gas liquids facility was signed in December 2022 with the Lindsayca-CH4 consortium for US$759 million.
At the signing, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo said the ability to complete the project within two years was among the main factors behind the consortium’s selection. The government also promised that the project would reduce electricity charges by 50%.
The project subsequently became embroiled in a dispute over delays in handing over the Wales site.
Stabroek News reported in April 2024 that the contractor had approached a Dispute Adjudication Board over a US$50 million claim arising from the late delivery of the site. The government acknowledged that the location had been handed over approximately three months late but maintained that the company’s financial claim lacked merit.
By March 2025, the government said it was heading to arbitration over two contractor claims totalling nearly US$100 million. Both sides had served notices of dissatisfaction following decisions by the Dispute Avoidance and Adjudication Board.
Lindsayca later assumed full responsibility for completing the project following the breakdown of its joint venture with CH4 Systems.
The Mid-Year Report says works on the 300 MW first phase advanced during the opening six months of the year but gives no percentage of completion.
It also says bids for a second 300 MW phase were received and were being evaluated, with construction expected to begin before the end of this year. The bidders have not been publicly identified.
The government allocated $119.4 billion to the wider energy sector this year, of which $44.7 billion was spent during the first half. The report does not say how much of this expenditure was directly attributable to the gas-to-energy project.
Speaking about the country’s electricity problems at the same press conference, Ali said the first gas-to-energy project would add significant capacity and reduce dependence on conventional generation and imported fuel.
He said Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh was searching for “tens of billions of dollars” more for GPL to meet increased fuel costs without passing them on to consumers.
The gas-to-energy project is intended to use natural gas transported by pipeline from the offshore Liza operations to generate electricity at Wales. The natural gas liquids facility is also expected to produce cooking gas for domestic use and export.
However, the revised completion date, Lindsayca’s request for additional resources and the unresolved arbitration raise further questions about the project’s final cost and when consumers will receive the promised reduction in electricity rates.
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