| – Contemplates sale of Skeldon’s co-gen plantThe first sugar crop for the year has started with the state-owned Guyana Sugar CorporationCash strapped GuySuCo has reportedly sold a large swath of land on the East Coast of Demerara to the CH&PA.(GuySuCo) reportedly attempting to raise some badly needed cash.Officials yesterday reported that the Corporation has sold a large chunk of land on the East Coast of Demerara and is now negotiating with Government to sell its co-generation plant at Skeldon estate to the Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL).Earlier this year, GuySuCo sold off swaths of canefields stretching from Sophia to Goedverwagting/Ogle area.For this GuySuCo reportedly received or is set to receive up to $3B from the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA).The authority has been making preparations to build a highway linking the housing scheme along the East Bank to the East Coast of Demerara to ease the traffic woes. The GuySuCo lands are critical for this initiative.According to union and GuySuCo officials yesterday, the sale of the reported 3,000 acres on the East Coast will also help to reduce the number of applications for houselots on file at CH&PA.GuySuCo reportedly used some of the $3B in cash from CH&PA to pay off over $1B it owed to the National Insurance Scheme. It also has used part of the money to pay workers their annual production incentives and to finance the start of the crop and pay suppliers who have been demanding their monies.GuySuCo has been moving slowly to consolidate its operations in the East Demerara area. It sold the Diamond Factory and compound to the Demerara Distillers Limited and has closed the LBI estate. It is the intention to centralize operations at Enmore, placing GuySuCo’s headquarters there.GuySuCo is in serious financial troubles after sugar prices fell by almost 50 percent over the last year.With production costs almost double the world price, GuySuCo has been looking to cut expenditure all around.One of the ways the state-owned Corporation is looking to raise cash is through the sale of its co-generation plant at the US$200M Skeldon plant. In constructing that new facility at Skeldon, GuySuCo had opted for a bagasse/diesel system that reportedly cost around US$35M.However, its tight cash flow and technical issues with the factory has seen the co-generation plant being left on the back burner in terms of maintenance.Both GPL and GuySuCo sources confirmed that talks are advanced for the sale of the power plant which could net the corporation up to $10B.However,Adam Lallana Jersey, GPL’s Chief Executive Officer,Zay Jones Jersey, Bharat Dindyal,Haason Reddick Womens Jersey, said he was unaware of a deal and will have to check.GuySuCo owes over US$100M in loans for the Skeldon expansion but has been unable to make payments to the China’s Export Import Bank. Government has been making the payments.With over 16,000 workers, GuySuCo has been high stakes for the Government with the Skeldon factory unable to perform since its commissioning more than five years ago.GuySuCo ended up hiring help from abroad,Marshawn Lynch Jersey, spending more than $1.6B to fix a number of technical issues, including the punt dumper, which moves cane from the waterways to the factory.Skeldon, despite being the newest factory,Blank Colombia Jersey, produced cane at more than double the costs, as compared to the older factories.The industry continued its string of poor performance last year, barely scraping past the target of 216,Jabrill Peppers Jersey,000 tonnes. This year, GuySuCo is looking at a hefty 245,710 tonnes of sugar, but it is likely this will be reduced.Skeldon has not yet started the crop and it is expected that this could happen by mid-month.GuySuCo is targeting over 86,201 tonnes of sugar for this first crop.The Opposition has been upping the pressure on GuySuCo to table a feasible plan. |
