CHIEF Executive Officer (CEO) of Guyana Sugar Corporation (GUYSUCO), Mr. Paul Bhim has announced that works to modify the Skeldon Sugar Factory will begin some time in November, just after the second crop.
He said although it is in operation, modifications are needed to make it more efficient and an estimated US$7M will be needed to fix the problems.
Bhim said the South African firm, Bosch, has been contracted to do the designs needed for the plant and that is currently in progress and expected to be completed by this month end.
He said the materials required should arrive in Guyana by next week and the actual physical work should set to commence by November month end and conclude before the first crop in 2013.
The factory, which was commissioned in 2009, had been touted as the flagship of the sugar industry, but since it became operational, there have been a number of issues affecting its efficient functioning.
Meanwhile, despite the challenges GuySuCo is facing with the Skeldon factory and recent industrial actions by workers, Bhim said it remains optimistic of being able to achieve the revised production target of 236,000 tonnes.
Favourable
He explained that the current weather conditions are favourable for the industry and they are hopeful that the sunshine will prevail for an extended period.
President of Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), Mr. Komal Chand echoed the same sentiments, adding that, once the dry weather persists GUYSUCO should be able to meet the targeted tonnage.
He said, although GUYSUCO is behind schedule in production that is understandable because, for the first three weeks in August, bad weather was experienced. Heavy and consistent rainfall prevented the reaping of sugar cane both manually and mechanically.
However, Chand acknowledged that, due to better weather for the past two weeks, more sugar is yielded from the quantity of cane. He attributed it to the fact that sunshine increases the sucrose content in the canes.
With regards to the recent industrial actions undertaken by factory workers at Blairmont Estate, Bhim advised that normalcy has returned and the factory is proceeding towards its expected production.