Traditional sugar factories need to go off the beaten track. With the drop in sugar export prices, they had the choice between innovation or closing down. Savannah sugar estate has chosen the first option that will partly become reality as from next April. In the long-term, a distillery, a refinery and an electric power station – one of the biggest in the world – will replace the “simple” sugar factory that had been there until then.

The Société Usinière du Sud (SUDS), the promoter of the brand new factory, will not only count on the power station but also intends to produce rum and ethanol in its distillery. Hence, it will add to Alcodis Ltd – the first ethanol producer in the country – with a daily capacity of 90,000 litres.

Moreover, the new factory will house a refinery to add value to traditional local sugar – intended to start in 2009. It may become the refined sugar supplier of the British group, Tate & Lyle, which implies that its whole production will be exported.

However, the greatest pride of the promoters may well lie in “one of the biggest bagasse-coal based factories of the sugar world” according to the chief executive of building company Sotramon Ltd, Gérard Chasteau de Balyon. As from April, the first two production lines – one is almost ready – will be connected to the Central Electricity Board (CEB) network. A third production line is planned in two years’ time and is expected to bring the total investment of Savannah in the project to Rs 7 billion.

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