New Kwale Sugar Plant to intensify competition

Last Updated 15 years ago by Kenya Engineer

Competition in the sugar industry in Kenya is set to go up following the commissioning of the Kwale International Sugar Company Limited (Kiscol).The company awarded Nairobi based Epico Builders the contract to construct the milling plant at the Coast.

The plant which was opened by the president Mwai Kibaki in 2010 is under joint ownership between Koscol and Mauritania based sugar producer, Omnicane .It will be run by Omnicane who own majority of the shares at 20 per cent.Omnocane will manage cane development and day to day operations of the factory as per the agreement with Kisco.

The plant set to be completed by March next year will crush up to 3,000 tonnes of sugarcane per day,30,00 litres of ethanol per day and 18 mega watts of electricity. The scale of sugarcane is however expected to be scaled up to 5,000 tonnes eventually. In a year, the plant will produce 90,000 tonnes of sugar.

Kiscol will tend 4,500 hectares of sugarcane but has already secured over 2,000 hectares of outgrowers’sugarcane through contracts with over 1,500 registered farmers in the region. It is also expected to create more job opportunities in the region.

The sugar industry in Mauritius is highly competitive due to the fact that modern technology in production is used. It is then expected that Omnicane  will bring along its technological advances into the Kwale cane venture.

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