Sudan to open $1bn sugar plant in April

Sudan plans to launch a $1bn sugar plant in April this year, as part of its effort to achieve self-sufficiency and boost sugar exports by 2014.

After South Africa and Egypt, Sudan is one of the largest sugar producers in Africa but still has to import at least 400,000t of sugar every year to meet its domestic demand.

The new sugar plant, known as West Nile Sugar, will have an initial white sugar output of 150,000t annually.

By 2013, the facility will have a capacity of 250,000t, and within the next three years it is expected to achieve its full production capacity of 450,000t.

The plant, which will receive its water supply from the West Nile River, will produce 140MW of power as a by-product, of which half will be used by the plant, whereas the other half will be exported to the national grid.

Within two years, the sugar plant is expected to produce 100,000t animal feed and 45 million tonnes of ethanol every year.

Sudan’s Kenana Sugar, owned by Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Sudan, holds the largest share in the plant, while other shareholders include Sudanese firms and two Egyptian investors.

Industry Minister Abdul-Wahab Osman said together with two other sugar plants, Kenana and a government-owned entity, Sudan’s sugar production will reach 1.5mt by 2014.

"In the coming two years we will be about 85 percent sufficient (in sugar). In 2014 we will be self-sufficient and we’ll be having 100,000 metric tonnes for exports," he added.

Sudan is also planning to set up four more sugar facilities through development loans from India and China, to boost sugar production in the country to more than 2Mt by 2016.

 

Image: Sudan is one of the largest sugar producers in Africa, but it imports at least 400,000t of sugar annually: the new sugar plant will end this dependence. Photo: Lauri Andler