GuySuCo is likely to lose substantial revenue as the commissioning problems with the new Skeldon factory mean that little grinding for this crop will be done and the Agriculture Minister yesterday signalled his government’s displeasure at the situation.
The problems at the much vaunted US$181M Skeldon sugar expansion project means that the estate will not meet its production target this year.
Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud told Stabroek News yesterday that the financial fallout from the mechanical failure has not yet been quantified and he confirmed that the Skeldon estate will not meet its production target this year.
Persaud said the government was not happy with the commissioning failure and was looking at the obligations of the contractors, other options and remedies with the main focus at this time being getting the factory commissioned.
A senior GuySuCo staffer, who provided some information to this newspaper on the current problems at the Skeldon estate yesterday, said that because of the mechanical problems, cane, which should have already been harvested, had overgrown (overrun fields). He said there were blocks of overgrown fields with canes, in some cases as old as two years which could not be milled into any useful product.
He said additional money would now have to be spent to clear those fields and re-cultivate them.
The senior employee, who asked for anonymity, said it was always expected that the new factory would have processed the current second crop. He said because no major problems were foreseen with the new factory, functioning parts were removed from the old factory and taken to other sugar factories even before the tests on the new factory had begun.
The parts removed included electric motors, which have now been recalled so that the old factory could be reassembled. The old factory is expected to start operation by next week, he said, but added that returning the motors and other parts to Skeldon could now also have an impact on the production capacity of the other factories.
Contrary to reports from the management of GuySuCo that the problems first occurred during the testing period September 9 to 11, the staff member recalled that the first mechanical problem was encountered on August 1. Then, he said, the bearing lubrication at the last shredder (cane knives) failed and caused extensive damage to the shaft and other components. This problem was encountered after only five punts of cane were milled.
During the second attempt to run the factory, another 16 punts of cane were milled before “two ears broke off one of the punt dumpers and caused the punt to drop on the carriage causing damage to the foundation.” The factory is apparently equipped with two punt dumpers, which operate hydraulically. They lift the loaded punt out of the canal, discharge its contents by turning the punt over above the cane carriage, and then return the empty punt to the canal.
At present only one punt dumper is operational as parts for the damaged one have to be shipped in via ocean cargo. Because of this, it is estimated that the new factory will now be restarted for trial around the third or last week in October, but definitely not in time to grind the current crop.
When the mechanical failures occurred, the source said, 385 punts of cane were waiting to be processed and because they had not deteriorated, they could have been used to make molasses. But making molasses required fuel, the employee said, and GuySuCo management felt it was uneconomical to burn expensive fuel. In addition, there was no bagasse in the storage area to use as alternative fuel. So a decision was taken to convert the 385 punts of cane to bagasse (cane husk) which will be used as fuel in the future.
At a press conference held at Herdmanston House on Monday, GuySuCo sought to assure the media that there were no major technical component failures or structural deficiencies in the US$181 million project.
When asked how soon, the commissioning of the factory could resume, GuySuCo Chief Executive Nick Jackson had said that it was very difficult to anticipate this stage but it could be in early October.
Before the factory is handed over, the contractor – CNTIC of China, is required to successfully conduct a 24-hour test and a 72-hour test. Following this, there would be three other 72-hour tests over the next year and the contractor would still be liable for defects arising from those tests.
Work began on the factory in 2005 and it was expected that the project would have been completed by October last year. Since then the commissioning date has been pushed back several times with the last date being August 2, 2008.
