Sudan has opened its much-delayed$1bn sugar plant in White Nile state,as part of its effort to achieve self-sufficiency and boost sugar exports.
The new plant,known as White Nile Sugar,has an initial white sugar output of 150,000 tons annually.
By 2013,the facility will have a capacity of 250,000 tons,and within the next three years it is expected to achieve its full production capacity of 450,000 tons.
At the launch ceremony,Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir said the plant will enable Sudan to become of the largest sugar exporters.
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 100,000 tons animal feed and 45 million tons of ethanol every year.
Sudan's Kenana Sugar,owned by Saudi Arabia,Kuwait and Sudan,holds the largest share in the plant with a 30%stake,while other shareholders include Sudanese firms and two Egyptian investors.
Although Sudan is one of the largest sugar producers in Africa,it has to import at least 400,000 tons of sugar every year to meet its domestic demand,and the new plant is expected to end the dependence of imports and bring in foreign revenues through export.
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 2 million tons by 2016.
The move to open the sugar plant is a part of the government's effort to cut down imports as the country is grappling with high inflation and severe economic crisis following its separation from oil-rich South Sudan in 2011,which cut down its revenues by one-third.
