UPGRADING Skeldon Sugar Factory and other works to aid cultivation are the main focus of the $4 billion Government subvention to the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), its Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr. Paul Bhim said Wednesday. In an interview with the State media, he disclosed that the tendering process has already started and, once plans progress as they should, then the company should be on its way to executing the various tasks.
“We’ve already started the tender process for both aspects, the factory as well as the field, and we’re hoping to get quite a bit of work for the factory completed in the next out-of-crop by June/July,” Bhim offered.
According to him, the tendering for the field works will last a longer period because of revetment.
“We have to go through a tender process and, by the time we start procuring the materials and so, that probably wouldn’t finish until the year ends,” he pointed out.
Bhim said the rest of the money will be spent on much needed capital  equipment, such as tillage tractors, noting that the company is way behind in the area of tillage and is working to improve that situation.

LIMITED OPPORTUNITY
He blamed rainfall for the much limited opportunity to do tillage, explaining that, for the first crop only nine days were available and they have already been utilised.
Bhim said the tractors will greatly assist towards completing the works and ensuring that land is ready for future planting.
He said they have to buy four more mechanised harvesters, two for Enmore and two for Skeldon. “So that’s, basically, where the money is going, most to be spent on capital works for 2012.”
About the Enmore Packaging Plant, Bhim said it is up and running but  is highly dependent on other factories to provide packaged sugar, including from La Bonne Intention (LBI).
“We, actually, have not been able to produce the amount of sugar that we were expected to produce. We are a bit behind in terms of packaged sugar,” he admitted.
Bhim said the efforts to upgrade factories and acquire more equipment are to ensure production is boosted to reach the overall 265,000 tons target this year.
The Agriculture Ministry was allocated $14.1 billion in the 2012 National Budget, as compared to $11 billion in 2010, an increase which the Minister, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy said went mostly to GuySuCo.
He maintained that the sugar industry is the backbone of the nation’s development and Government will continue to support it.