The Ministry of Finance’s Special Purpose Unit (SPU) has secured investors for the closed Wales Sugar Estates.
“…in the next two months we should have two major investors in the Wales space starting agro- production,” Colvin Heath-London told the News Room in an exclusive interview today.
He said that the investors are likely to be a consortium of local and private investors with the area of interest being rice and coconut cultivation.
The senior staff compound, the administrative building, the old factory itself and some lands suitable for real estate were on sale.
London said that the SPU attracted numerous applications and “the results and numbers people have offered for the property far exceeded our expectations.”
Further, he said that the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), for which he serves as Chairman, has entered into arrangements to re-employ some of the workers who were sent home when the Wales estate was closed.
“I am expecting that within this week reemployment will start,” he stated.
At the Enmore, East Coast Demerara factory, work has restarted to grind the current sugar crop. The SPU has entered into a one-year agreement with Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL) to supply the company molasses for its rum production.
Operations will also soon restart at the Skeldon Estate to also provide molasses for DDL.
The SPU has secured a $30 billion syndicated loan to recapitalise the three estates which have been left open.
Heath-London said the aim is to make the operations of the three estates as efficient as possible and to explore new products, such as flavoured cane juice, sugar cubes, plantation white sugar, and packaging for concentrated markets.
