Latest update April 24th, 2024 12:59 AM
Mar 30, 2018 News
With a new Board of Directors in place and grinding ongoing at four estates, the Guyana Sugar Corporation was reporting, as of Wednesday, more than 17,400 tonnes of sugar produced for the year.
Almost 6,600 tonnes of molasses have been produced also for the year at Albion, Blairmont, Uitvlugt and Enmore.
The first three are the estates that GuySuCo has kept with Enmore reopened for the production of molasses for the Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL) after being closed last year.
The figures would come as Government continues to work with a smaller-sized, three-estate GuySuCo, a strange situation in a country that have for centuries been cultivating and harvesting canes for its sugar production.
Communities were literally built around the industry.
Earlier this week, GuySuCo’s Chairman, Colvin Heath-London announced that the administration has managed to put together a $30B finance package for GuySuCo which will target operations and urgent fixing at the factories.
Heath-London, who was also appointed head of the Special Purpose Unit (SPU), which falls under the state-owned National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL), has been battling to re-open Enmore, Skeldon and Rose Hall, three estates controversially closed last year as part of the restructuring of GuySuCo.
SPU is the body tasked with finding investors for the three estates closed last year as well as the ageing Wales, which stopped grinding the year before after more than a century in operations.
There are over 70 expressions of interest for the three closed estates.
DDL, which badly wants the molasses for its rums, has struck a deal with SPU for the running of Enmore for this crop.
With NICIL handed control of GuySuCo last year and with the vesting of the shares in that unit, it meant that the mandate of the company (NICIL) has expanded. A number of strides are being made under the Heath-London board.
An expert who has worked in the Caribbean and around the world closing deals, including the US$150M Timehri airport project right here in Guyana, Heath-London according to GuySuCo insiders, was viewed with suspicion at first.
“…But he has managed to restart Enmore and make things happen with a mere $10M. Many persons thought that that was it for Enmore. I have lived here over 40 years and this closure was a blow,” says Permaul.
He was one of the 100-plus persons rehired to harvest canes at Enmore for the making of molasses for DDL. He lost his job last year.
For DDL, it is molasses; for the SPU, it is keeping the estate as a going concern until an investor is found. DDL has expressed an interest but the offer has to right.
Scores of workers were paid at Enmore yesterday, a gladdening sight for some.
The administration had been battling the unpopular decision by GuySuCo’s previous board, headed by Professor Clive Thomas, to close the three estates last year.
With GuySuCo out of cash at the 2017 year end, the signs are looking good so far.
According to information yesterday, the Rose Hall Estate which has been sending its cane to Albion has seen over 4,000 tonnes of cane cut with about 3,000 tonnes from Enmore.
Some 1,100 tonnes of molasses were produced at Enmore since the factory restarted over the weekend.
There are about 100,000 tonnes of cane to be harvested for this crop from Skeldon.
SPU is currently seeking partnerships to have those canes harvested.
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