Deflecting a question about whether his government will stick to a key manifesto promise to reopen the Skeldon and East Demerara estates, President Irfaan Ali yesterday said that bilateral meetings with Guatemala and India will assist in determining the sustainability of sugar production at these two sites.
Questions have grown about the fate of these two shuttered estates following a deal announced last month which will see the Enmore Sugar Packaging plant repurposed and 55 acres of East Demerara Estate (EDE) land leased or sold. The terms of the deal have not been released and key stakeholders including the sugar union, GAWU were caught off guard.