Seventy percent of works for the reopening of the Rose Hall Sugar Estate have been completed, inclusive of major changes in the factory as management and staff gear up for the second crop of this year.
Reopening of this estate and two others had been a major manifesto promise of the PPP/C Government.
Estate Manager, Vijay Goberdhan, in an exclusive interview yesterday with the Sunday Stabroek, said that when they retook control of the estate, the factory and building were in an extremely dilapidated state mainly because the factory was shut down hastily and the equipment and infrastructure were not maintained or preserved. “There was a lot of deterioration on the roof and structure (and) due to that, rainfall water soaked a lot of the equipment and it deteriorated by rusting”, he said.
He recalled that in September 2020, based on instructions from the present government an assessment of the factory was carried out of what exactly needed to be done, and it was discovered that a total rehabilitation of all the equipment including the structures was necessary, “and to date, we have completed 70% of the rehab which is including the building and equipment” along with field works.
According to Goberdhan, they will soon move to testing the equipment which is expected to happen between now and June, “by which time we should be able to do a complete test of the factory in preparation to start the second crop sometime in October this year.”
Detailing the works carried out on the factory’s infrastructure, Goberdhan, a mechanical engineer himself, explained, that they have since replaced the entire roof of the “process house, the boiler, pre-milling, the mills… In terms of equipment, the cane carriers, we had to totally refurbish the structures, replace the chains, we replaced one of the knives, the first cane knife to be upgraded to horsepower rating so that we can get better cane preparation, we’re also putting in a new carrier control system to have better control and feeding operations to the mill, total refurbishing of the mills, changing of undersized mill rolls and worn mill rolls.”
In terms of the boilers, Goberdhan noted that the process is ongoing to re-tube two boilers, while they are aiming to include a water management control system “so the boiler could be operated in a more automated manner when the factory starts in the second crop.”
The Sunday Stabroek was told that before the closure of the estate, the automation was not in place. As such this is one of the new transformational aspects of rebuilding the factory.
“We are moving to upgrade that system like in modern boilers so that we can have better steam control which will have a better operation in the supply of steam to the turbines and processing department.”
Additionally, the estate manager noted that they have since acquired an automated hot liming system for the juice, which will be installed within another month, while they are also in the process of doing a major overhaul of the “main power generating turbine, the two five-megawatt turbines, in the powerhouse.”
According to him, the manufacturers of the turbine will be sending engineers to assist with the overhauling.
An air heater is also being installed on the number two boiler to improve efficiency. “The air heater preheats the air that is used to generate the combustion… Initially, the boiler was without an air heater but we locally fabricates this with local skills and we’re putting it together”, he said.
Goberdhan disclosed that they have since acquired a new diesel generator for the powerhouse to replace the Blackstone generator which has been at the location for over thirty-five years. They have replaced seven pumps in the process department and are looking to procure five more this year.
A tour of the estate showed improvements in the structure and equipment. Goberdhan noted that they carried out replacement works throughout the factory but particularly the process house, “platforms, structures that support the condensers, structures that support the general service water tank, these were all exposed on the outside. They got deteriorated because no maintenance was done to them.”
Touching on the number two chimney which was in a state of near collapse when the process of reopening commenced, Goberdhan said that they took the structure down and replaced it. He said that “the last segment is about to go up there later today”.
According to him, a total refurbishing of the cane gantry structure was also done, the deteriorated molasses storage tank is being rebuilt and one of the backing pans in the process house is being replaced.
Tillage
Meanwhile, a massive tillage plan is being undertaken at the estate as they move ahead to prepare for the second crop. In addition, a private contractor has been brought on board to assist with the tillage programme.
Nazir Saccoor, Agriculture Manager, detailing the process thus far, pointed out that the first step was clearing the abandoned fields and the blocked canals to bring the area into a state of readiness for tillage.
He said that since the commencement of the tillage process, they have done 1050 hectares and planted 944 hectares. At that time, the estate had four “old machines” to carry out the process.
However, last year with the intervention of GuySuCo’s Chief Executive Officer, Sasenarine Singh they were able to acquire five new machines, moving the tillage fleet to nine and ultimately boosting the operations in the fields.
This year they are looking to till 1999 hectares and plant 2104 hectares.
The estate has also acquired a mechanical planter and will be purchasing mechanical harvesting equipment – both systems although utilised in the industry were never employed at the Rose Hall Estate.
The private contractor is expected to cover over 1,000 hectares to facilitate the mechanical harvester to work on the land, the Sunday Stabroek was told.
Additionally, the estate has 112 new punts, 15 are being fabricated presently, and material for another 150 was procured to start the fabrication process as well.
Maintenance was also carried out in drainage pumps that serve the Canje community and estate’s cultivation, while an ambulance is being completely refurbished for the estate’s dispensary, and major works were done and are continuing on the fertilizer bond and field lab.
Touching on structures in the backlands, dams, and all-weather roads, Saccoor noted, that all were in a deplorable condition and had to be brought back to a functional state. “We have done work to get access to the area we are operating in but we still have a lot of work to do in terms of preparing the rest of the areas.”
Nevertheless, he stressed, that he is confident that they will meet the second crop timeline to support the official reopening.
Employment
Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha in the National Assembly revealed that to date, over 1,479 people had been reemployed within GuySuCo “and are now able to provide a livelihood for their families and contribute to the recovery of their village economy.”
Ideally, the Rose Hall Estate will need 1982 employees to fully function in the second crop. Goberdhan pointed out that major training is being carried out at the estate currently. He stated, that since some of the workers now employed are newcomers to the corporation the training is a necessity “to put them up to speed to be able to operate areas they were never accustomed to.”
The training is being done by the estate in collaboration with the training school.
Presently, eight persons between the ages of 18 – 26 are currently being trained at the Albion Estate as lab technicians and sugar boilers.
Further, another six persons have since been identified to commence training soon.
It was stressed that persons are being hired on a needs basis, however, several employment drives have been held since the process of reopening commenced.
Pawan Baldeo, Human Resource Manager, noted that they are facing some constraints in attracting the labour force for planting, while this year they will start their recruitment drive for harvesters.
Rakesh Kallicharran, 27, of Number 19 Village, Corentyne, who was working in the fertilizer bond yesterday, explained, that he is extremely happy to have gained employment at the estate. “Me can work and able mind me self”, the young man said.
Andrew Braithwaite, 28, a pump attendant, of Betsy Ground, East Canje Berbice said that he was one of the few persons who were kept on to work at the pumps after the closure of the estate.
Two of his older brothers were severed due to the closure and the devastation they faced is something he can never forget. “It was very hard but as they opening now it’s very good.”
Braithwaite said that the Canje community has seen an “upgrade” since the estate began rehiring persons. “People able fa buy things now, people happy. Me two brothers them go through a hard time and all two come back and get work… They get children and so and we feel good about that.”
Additionally, unskilled persons are being hired and trained for various departments and are provided with an opportunity to move up, while skilled persons are also hired and offered a higher level of training to improve their skill sets altogether.
Last year, fifty unskilled persons were employed, and between the estate and the training school, those persons underwent fifteen weeks of training to become welders, mechanics, electricians, and fitter machinists. This newspaper was told, that forty-six of those persons were hired to fill the positions at the estates following their training – as the estate is very focused on its employee development programme.
Saif Ishmael, 28, of Cumberland, East Canje Berbice one of the beneficiaries of the training programme, said that he was in desperate need of employment and the estate rescued him.
He said he was willing to be employed in any department but never expected that he would be given an opportunity to train to work in the factory.
“It was tough, I was doing lil taxi work and trying to get employed in several places but I see this opportunity I just take it.”
Ishmael is currently a fitter machinist in the pre-milling department, and according to him, the training was a “good help” to him. “I develop a lot more… I never expect they would give training and I feel good knowing that you can elevate in some sort of way.”
Another worker, Leon Jaikissoon, 27, of Reliance, East Canje Berbice, said, that he was a porter/cleaner when the Rose Hall Estate abruptly closed. However, he said after being tossed into unemployment and not being able to find a job in the Canje area following the closure he left his family and went to the interior to work.
However, Jaikissoon quickly returned to his home community after he learned of the reopening of the estate. He is now a welder attached to the factory.
Baldeo yesterday recalled witnessing the devastation firsthand following the closure of the estate. “Some people lose their family because they hadn’t a job, family had to move from one place to the next, family had to break up…”
He continued, “You had people who had mortgages they couldn’t a afford it they lost their homes, there were school dropouts because some people couldn’t afford to send their kids to school, there was forced separation in homes.”
He said that walking around the estate and speaking to the rehired and newly hired staff you see their excitement in being employed. “When you speak to people they tell you their benefits of being employed, it’s tremendous.”
He added, that it’s not only about affording persons an opportunity to work but rather affording them an opportunity to be able to financially care for their families and “educate their children”, building a stronger community, reducing the crime rate, and putting persons in better positions to strengthen their families.
Excited to complete the project
Meanwhile, Goberdhan, who started with GuySuCo as a management trainee at the Skeldon Estate and has over 27 years of service to the corporation, took over the reins of the estate just last week. He told the Sunday Stabroek that he is extremely excited to lead the team to see the estate through to its official opening. “I am enjoying the challenge to look at the things that we need to fix and the new initiatives because it’s not about rebuilding the old factory but we want to implement new systems, so having a factory that is somewhat transformed.”
Minister Mustapha in delivering his presentation on budget 2023 last week, boasted that the Rose Hall Estate will be reopened and smoke will come out of its chimney.
Several workers in the field and factory yesterday agreed with Mustapha noting that at the pace at which the operations are moving at the estate, they are confident that the target to reopen in the second crop will be met.
