Skeldon sugar factory operating at 65 percent - Agri Minister

Minister of Agriculture Dr. Leslie Ramsammy says the Skeldon Sugar Factory is operating at between 60 and 65 percent of its capacity.

He was responding to questions from his government colleague Dr. Shamdeo Persaud at Thursday’s sitting of the National Assembly.

“The Skeldon Factory is still not working to capacity, the Skeldon Factory for various reasons, not all to do with the factory itself but some of it has to do with matters external to the factory, is operating at an average 60 to 65 percent capacity,” the minister said.

He added that there are planned redesign works to be done after the current crop by the South African firm Bosch Engineering. Upon completion, the factory should start operating at about 85 percent capacity, Dr. Ramsammy said.
The works to be done include modification to the punt dumper design; modification to the cane conveyor; installation of condensing tanks to boost efficiency; and the modification of the bagasse conveyor.

The minister was also asked whether Skeldon Factory was supplying electricity to the national grid which he answered in the affirmative.

“This is averaging 5.5 to 6 megawatts, however during peak periods as much as eight to 10 megawatts is supplied. The eight to 10 megawatts is achieved utilising the turbo generators which use bagasse,” Dr. Ramsammy said.
The minister also noted that there was still approximately 2,600 hectares of land to be brought into operation with 782 hectares located within the estate’s property and 1,845 hectares the property of private farmers.

Some US$180M has been spent to modernise the factory as the government look to revitalise the flagging sugar industry.

source: demerarawaves.