Retooling Komenda Sugar Factory 98% complete

The retooling and repair work at the Komenda Sugar Factory (KSF) are 98 per cent complete.

The Minister of Trade and Industry, Alan Kyerematen, who disclosed this to Parliament yesterday, said a production test run would be conducted by the end of next month.

The minister was responding to a question on the floor of Parliament put to him by the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bole-Bamboi, Yusif Sulemana, on the state of the factory.

Mr Kyerematen said other works had either been completed or were at the final stages of completion.

He named the works to include the installation of a new pipeline to and from the plant to the molasses tank, and refractories. There is also lagging work in the boiler furnace and chimneys, which is fully completed.

Another was the completion of the vacuum and water testing facility at the boiler house, which had started working, with steam pressure testing ongoing for the turbine to generate three megawatts (MW) of electricity, the minister added.

Mr Kyerematen named the rest as the completion of raw sugar refining, enhancing it from between eight and 10 tonnes per hour to between 16 and 20 tonnes per hour, while equipment and machinery at the Mill House, the boiling house and the boiler and powerhouse sections had all been overhauled and repaired and components replaced, where necessary.

Other works

The Trade and Industry Minister said the electrical installation works, with all the motors and boilers, had been maintained and repaired, while the construction of a new warehouse for storing raw sugar jumbo bags of between one tonne and 5,000 tonnes was ongoing.

He added that the construction of a new chemical storage warehouse, a new canteen and new washrooms for both genders was ongoing, while the construction of a new water reservoir of two-million litre capacity had been completed to expand the existing 150,000 litre reservoir.

Mr Kyerematen said the turbine for electricity production had been overhauled and was being tested while sandblasting to remove rust and prevent further corrosion of equipment to maintain the integrity of all metal surfaces at the factory had been completed.

“Mr Speaker, with respect to civil works, the whole factory building and the warehouse have been re-roofed to stop leakages and corrosion, while the raw material warehouse, as well as the fencing of the factory, is currently under construction,” he said.