ETHIOPIA – Ethiopian Sugar Corporation is set to inaugurate Omo Kuraz Sugar Factory Three on October 14, built with US$286.12 million loan from China Development Bank.
According to the state corporation, the new factory will have the capacity of upto a thousand tonnes of sugar per day, producing three types of sugar with modern technology targeting the global market demand.
The factory constructed by Zhengzhou-based China Complant Group Inc can produce raw sugar, plantation white sugar, and refined sugar.
Omo Kuraz Sugar Factories Project kicked off in 2011 comprising the construction of six sugar factories, sugar cane plantations, housing units, and roads.
It formed part of the 10 sugar factories planned to be constructed nationwide by the end of the five-year GTP period.
Inauguration of the Omo Kuraz III Sugar Factory raises the number of sugar producing factories in the country to eight, increasing job creation and expansion of micro and small enterprises.
Construction of irrigation infrastructures capable of irrigating 100,000 hectares of sugarcane plantation field of all the four sugar factories has started to ensure availability of raw materials for sugar processing.
A national survey on the sugar sector showed that Ethiopia has more than 500,000 hectares of land suitable for sugarcane development, capable to contribute greatly to the economy.
To leverage on opportunities presented by the sector, the Ethiopian Sugar Corporation has overseen the construction of four sugar factories, expansions and making new sugar factories operational under the government’s Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP).
The corporation last year signed a memorandum of understanding with a German company- Eugen Schmitt Company in joint venture to build an ethanol plant at Wonji Shoa Sugar Factory.
New Sugar factories construction and the upgrading activities are aimed at meeting local demand and promote sugar exports as well.
According to Ethiopian Sugar Corporation CEO Endawek Abtie, production capacity has not exceeded 400,000 metric tons before and the expansion aims to increase production capacity to a record 700,000 metric tons a year.
The average national sugar demand is 600,000 to 650,000 metric tons, meaning production exceeds demand.
