Headlines:
| Ethanol production plans questioned |
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| Sunday, 28 June 2009 | |
 The future of ethanol production in the country is being
questioned following the sale of two of the state-owned sugar factories last
week.In announcing the sale of the Trelawny and St. Thomas sugar entities, Agriculture Minister Dr. Christopher Tufton suggested that one of the buyers had expressed an interest in following through on earlier plans for turning local sugar factories into ethanol production plants. However there have been few details on any concrete plans for manufacturing ethanol. The government originally included ethanol production as a component the sugar divestment deal, especially during talks with the Brazilian ethanol producers Infinity Bio-energy. The sale of the sugar factories to that company fell through earlier this year, forcing government to seek new buyers. Judith Wedderburn, representing the Non-Governmental community on Sunday's edition of RJR's weekly news review programme 'That's a Rap', said the country may have rushed into plans for the whole sale production of ethanol. Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Dr. Christopher Tufton says the government's alternative energy policy remains unchanged. He says a clear distinction needs to be made between this policy and the sale of the government's sugar assets, including the existing ethanol production plant, Petrojam Ethanol Limited, PEL. Dr. Tufton said his Ministry is still pursuing ethanol production through PEL, a deal which suffered a setback when the Infinity Bio Energy divestment deal fell through. In subsequent invitations for bids, the government asked prospective investors to assume responsibility for estate sugar cane lands and the Petrojam Ethanol Limited plant. The Agriculture Minister says he has received expressions of interest in this regard from bidders. |