The Trade and Industry Minister, Alan John Kojo Kyerematen, says the Komenda Sugar Factory will be fully operational once an agreement between government and the selected strategic investor, Park Agrotech, has been submitted to Parliament for approval.

“It will be our pleasure to do this as soon as possible, hopefully within the next month and a half,” he told lawmakers when he appeared before them on Wednesday to answer a question by the Member for Chereponi, Samuel A. Jabanyite, on the current status of the factory and efforts being made to operationalise it.

Mr. Kyerematen said Park Agrotech will begin a comprehensive programme of action to bring the factory to life as soon as restrictions on foreign travels have been lifted and all relevant approvals have been secured.

Park Agrotech was selected after a bid evaluation process to identify a strategic investor with the requisite technical and financial capacity to operate the factory efficiently and profitably, he stressed.

He said the company will be working in partnership with STM Projects Limited, an Indian-based company with extensive experience in the management and operation of sugar mills and plantations in India and other parts of the world.

Under the agreement, Park Agrotech will invest US$28m over the first three years in capital expenditure and working capital, and also pay an annual concession fee of US$3.3m for a period of 15 years.

The Minister said the strategic policy framework for the implementation of the project is a National Sugar Policy which was approved by Cabinet in October 2019.