– says it incorporates some of the best technologies
Prime Minister Samuel Hinds performing the duties of President on Friday inspected several departments of the modern Skeldon Sugar factory, Region Six.

Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, Region Six Chairman Zulfikar Mustapha and Contractor inspect works in progress.

The US$185M flagship state-of-the-art sugar factory was commissioned by President Bharrat Jagdeo on August 22 last.

Conceived in 1998 as part of the Guyana Sugar Corporation’s (GuySuco’s) strategic review, the commissioning of the factory marks the culmination of 10 years of planning and execution.

Mr. Hinds said that the factory came at a time when there was great uncertainty in the world of sugar, especially for the 18 sugar-producing countries in the ACP (African-Caribbean-Pacific) group of which Guyana is a member.

He noted that the price cut has severely threatened the viability of the sugar industry in several countries, including Guyana, and has resulted in some countries ceasing sugar production.

Guyana maintained its commitment to the continued high level of sugar production to supply local and international markets.

He stated that the factory incorporates some of the best technologies from the world of sugar manufacturing, to provide a high efficiency manufacturing process that makes the best recovery of the sucrose and the energy in the raw sugar cane.

Mr. Hinds said that he is pleased with the output of the sugar factory since its establishment.

The factory has a capacity to produce about 120,000 tonnes of raw sugar, and will require about 1.2 million tonnes of cane annually, about three times the requirement of the old sugar mill.

Mr. Hinds was accompanied on the visit by Region Six Chairman Zulfikar Mustapha and Head of the Private Sector Commission Gerry Gouveia.

The Skeldon factory was constructed with a combination of self-generated funds and loans from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), the People’s Republic of China and the Government of Guyana