East Timor to have its first sugar mill

East Timor to have its first sugar mill

JAKARTA (JP): A Rp 58 billion (US$25.3 million) sugar mill will soon be built in East Timor, opening up the region to the sugar industry for the first time.

The mill, to be situated in the Los Palos regency, 210 kilometers East of Dili, will be built by PT Ciptatata Indah Sejahtera (CIS). The firm will start work on the project by opening up a 5,000-hectare sugar cane plantation in January.

CIS president Bambang Harsono said yesterday that the planned mill will employ between 3,000 and 5,000 workers, giving first priority to the region's indigenous people.

Construction of the mill and the installation of its machinery will begin next August, Bambang said, as quoted by Antara. The machinery is to be imported from China at a cost of Rp 27 billion.

The mill will have a production capacity of 2,000 tons of sugar per day, or 40,000 tons per annum with a milling period of 200 days. Its milling operations are scheduled to begin next December.

Bambang said that, in addition to sugar, the mill will also produce alcohol of international standards.

Bambang said his decision to invest in the area was not based on political considerations but on the fact that the region, particularly Los Palos, was suited to the production of plantation commodities.

He said that locals recruited to work at the mill would receive training in Java.

At the initial stage, CIS will send 10 Los Palos locals to study hygiene at a special secondary school run by CIS in East Java.

Bambang said that, to date, CIS has sent 64 East Timorese to study hygiene in Java. (pwn)