THE new ultra-modern sugar complex at Skeldon in East Berbice, dogged by start-up problems which delayed its scheduled formal commissioning, is fully operational, it was announced yesterday.

At the formal presentation of a plan to turn the crucial industry around in about three years, he announced that the Skeldon factory should realise its “true production level” by 2013 by churning out about 110,000 tonnes of sugar annually.

The commissioning of the US$180M plant earlier this year was put back because it failed test runs and the corporation filed for consequential damages of more than US$5M.

The government had stressed that it will not accept the complex from the Chinese company building it unless it was fully operational.

The Skeldon project covers a new sugar factory with a capacity of 8,400 tonnes cane per day, the extension and modernisation of the existing sugar estate; civil engineering design and construction; design and supply of equipment for the factory and erection of factory equipment.

The funding was partly provided by the World Bank and the Caribbean Development Bank.

Gopaul said the interim board had to pay attention to the difficulties and despite all the forecasts that it would not have been ready until the end of the first crop, the factory is fully operational.

He said the board worked with management and technical persons and at times took leaders of the sugar unions to visit and inspect the work at the factory on an ongoing basis.

“We are happy to report that the factory is fully operational and that while there will be minor problems and adjustments, we believe that the factory will be able to produce sugar on an ongoing basis subject to the availability of cane”, he said.