THE Guyana Sugar Corporation’s factory at Skeldon will be operating at improved capacity by the second crop, thanks to the work done to fix the damaged boiler by a team of Chinese engineers over the past weeks.
This is according to CEO of GuySuCo Paul Bhim, who spoke at the launch of Project Gold – the new packaging facility at Enmore – last Monday.
Project Gold is intended to boost the sugar industry’s fortunes at a time when production is down and prices are not what they used to be, thanks to the European Union.
“The [Skeldon] factory will be boosted by the returning into operation of the number one boiler in the second crop of this year. That would enable [our capacity] to increase and be able to take all the canes in Skeldon, and there are a lot of canes in Skeldon,” he said.
With a view to addressing the teething issues with the Skeldon factory, about 20 personnel from the Chinese contractor that constructed the factory moved in on location, working to fix the damaged boiler.
According to Bhim, the team had been dismantling the tubes from the old boiler in order to replace them with new tubes. He noted in April that these works are expected to be completed by the end of June, in time for the second crop at Skeldon, noting that the work was ongoing and progressing fairly well.
Speaking some weeks ago in the Ministry of Agriculture boardroom, Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud said that the challenge for the industry was not the unavailability of canes, but getting those canes from the field to the factory.
He said that more private cane farmers must get on board the company’s efforts at achieving the production targets set for the year – 300,000 tonnes. It is for this reason that the Government of Guyana is backing the efforts of the private cane farmers to the tune of $600 million in support, through a range of interventions. He expressed hope that the company comes close to its target for the year, if not surpassing it.
The Skeldon Factory is an investment by the Government of Guyana to ensure the continued viability of the sugar industry, whose contribution to the national economy is indispensable. It was built at a cost of almost US$200M and it is said to be the largest single investment by any Government of Guyana in the history of the country.
This investment, when fully realised, will see the industry producing in excess of 400,000 tonnes per annum. The Skeldon investment is also complemented by the completion of the US$12.5 million Enmore Packaging Facility an upgrade to the Enmore Sugar Factory, all with a view to increasing the viability of the industry as envisaged in the turnaround plan.