The Komenda Sugar Factory will start production on Tuesday, November 29, although it would take up to a week to start the actual production of sugar.
Management of the company says it would require about 185,000 metric tons of sugar cane to produce for the next one year’s production cycle.
However, the $35.5 million company is sure of the availability of only 45, 000 metric tons of sugar cane, which will run out by April 2017.
President John Mahama commissioned the factory on May 30 this year which was supposed to provide some 7,000 jobs for people. It, however, had to close down shortly after commissioning for maintenance.
At Joy News’ last visit to the site, maintenance works were still ongoing with the area around the facility yet to be fenced all grown with weeds
Management of the company told Joy New’s Manasseh Azure Awuni that although the reopening is Tuesday, November 29, sugar production starts in December.
The Managing Director, Douglas Mensah, said they would shut the factory again for three weeks maintenance after being in operation for two months.
According to him, although the success of the factory would depend on the availability of sugar canes, he is talking to some sugarcane farmers to provide the company with their harvest with the hope that some sugar cane would be harvested after April.
In June this year, government took $24.5 million Indian EXIM bank loan to help in an irrigation project to grow more sugar cane.
The money is yet to be accessed but already, the company is yet to start a plantation to augment supply from farmers.
“There are other areas we are yet to discover and we are still moving. We are not denying the fact that there are challenges,” Mr Mensah told Joy News.
It would take a year for the company to harvest its own sugar cane if the project succeeds.
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