The low purity level of the juice being extracted at the new Skeldon sugar factory is raising serious concerns about the actual start-up of its commercial operations, well-placed sources say.
As a result, the current crop will likely grind to a close without any positive signs of the factory being ready for early next year. The new US$110M factory has been beset by a range of problems. It is a turn-key project and the government is yet to take possession of it from the Chinese contractor, CNTIC. The factory was expected to be in place for this year’s crucial second crop and the failure will impact on production.
The purity level of the extract is expected to be above 80, as a requirement of the new technology being introduced at the factory, but it continues to fall below this, a source close to the operation said yesterday. The Contin-uous Vacuum Pan technology (CVP), which is part of the new operation, cannot be utilized if purity levels are low.
China National Techno-logy Import and Export Corporation (CNTIC), which constructed the factory and is overseeing the commissioning, is expected to hold talks soon with GuySuCo on the way forward since according to the source “the issues facing the factory right now are complicated, serious and must be addressed”.
The sugarcane that is being harvested for sugar production at the new factory apparently poses problems due to a build-up of thick mud among other sediments. It is unclear as to whether the factory has facilities to clean up the cane before it is processed, but the source noted that concerns have been raised with GuySuCo as it relates to the condition of the canes that are being harvested. Currently cane is being harvested manually though mechanical harvesters would be partially employed in the operations at the new plant.
Testing is ongoing at the factory, but the issue of low purity levels coupled with a marked delay in the supply of sugarcane to the new plant is reportedly among the biggest setbacks. Stabroek News was told that some 4-5 hours usually elapse after the first batch of sugarcane reaches the new factory before a second batch is supplied.
Chief Executive of GuySuCo, Nick Jackson was unavailable for comment when his office was contacted yesterday by Stabroek News on the issue. Several calls were placed to his office.
Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud referred to the issues plaguing the operation at Skeldon as teething problems when questioned yesterday at a press briefing, and he was optimistic that those problems would not affect the factory being fully operational.
He said there are issues with the Chinese contractor that are currently engaging the project management team, adding that the problem has grown to the point where the Chinese Ambassador to Guyana had to become involved. Persaud added that testing is still ongoing at the new factory, which he said, will continue into the next crop.
Sugar is being produced at the new factory for GuySuCo, but it has been in small quantities, not in the large quantities as expected. The factory has the capacity to produce 350 tonnes of sugar while the old factory at Skeldon- which has resorted to crushing cane since August when the new factory failed to start-up- produces 92 tonnes.
Previously it had been reported that technical issues were delaying the handing over of the factory by the Chinese firm, but no details were divulged. Work began on the new factory in 2005 and it was expected that it would have been completed by October 2006. Since then the commissioning date has been pushed back several times.
