– Minister Persaud
AGRICULTURE Minister Robert Persaud yesterday announced that the new cane sugar packaging plant, ‘Project Gold’, at Enmore, East Coast Demerara will be officially commissioned on May 9.
The initiation of this project envisions the future viability of the sugar industry since it requires a transitional shift in operational procedure, implementation and overall production, fused with raising standards and expansion in the range of products generated by the industry.
Construction of the $2.4B packaging facility commenced in October 2009, via an investment by Government with support from the European Union. The project will help to form part of the approach to cushion the industry’s ability to deal with price cuts.
The facility is expected to churn-out about 40,000 tonnes of sugar and later expand to 80,000 tonnes of packaged sugar. Prior to the materialization of the facility, Guyana has been selling raw sugar. However, consumers will now be able to access 40,000 tonnes of sugar that is well packaged.
Another aspect of the project will be the restructuring within the factory to enable it to produce high-grade sugar for packaging purposes, while larger acreages within the East Coast Demerara area will be brought under cultivation to produce adequate cane supply in order to ensure a brighter future for the sugar industry.
According to the Government Information Agency (GINA), the facility will be manned by 24 persons who will be actively involved in the packaging and storage area.
This new packaging plant will have a different specialization than that of the Skeldon Sugar Factory, which was envisaged as a facility to refine sugar, thereby satisfying a widespread demand for white sugar throughout the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
It is projected that the sugar from both the Enmore and La Bonne Intention (LBI) factories will be used in the packaging plant. It is also hoped that a small amount of sugar will be brought in from Blairmont as well.
Government continues to invest in the sugar industry, maintain its stability, diversify and develop in spite of industrial actions by workers, price cuts and low yields.