Chinese contractors now aiming for handing over by month-end
The Chinese contractors currently in the commissioning stages for the Skeldon sugar factory are hoping that the production of sugar could begin by this weekend and stabilized so that the turnkey project could be handed over to the Guyana Sugar Corporation by the end of this month.
They also hope that once the factory is up and running efficiently both parties could amicably resolve issues of liquidated damages, which could run into millions of US dollars, for failure to hand over the project by the deadline.
In a telephone interview, CNTIC Director Chen Yu Yu, who is currently overseeing the commissioning of the US$181 million plant, told Stabroek News that since the commissioning process restarted on October 8, the engineers have found a number of hiccups on the production line and were fixing them one by one.
The problems were common in large plants with various production units, such as this new factory, he said.
At present, Chen said the engineers were testing the diffuser, also known as the juice extractor, which was manufactured by the British company, Fletcher Engineering. This, he said, was just one of the processes in the complex production of the sugar crystals, he said.
Once the cane juice is successfully extracted, he said that the testing would continue on other components until it gets to the final stage of crystallisation, hopefully as early as this weekend.
“As soon as we have crystals and the production is stable, which, hopefully, would be by month-end,” he said, “we would hand over the factory to Guysuco.”
Chen said that CNTIC has already received a notice for liquidated damages from Guysuco but he hopes that once the testing is successfully completed both companies could work towards an amicable resolution of the matter.
Meanwhile, Guysuco Chief Executive Nick Jackson, when contacted told Stabroek News that he was getting concerned as time goes by and the factory was still not into full production.
Ideally, he said that he would like the factory up and running because the old factory, which had to be put back into operation after the new factory failed to function effectively for the projected start-up date of August 26, could only process 92 tonnes of cane per hour while the new factory has the capacity to process 350 tonnes per hour.
“The pressure is on and time is running out,” he said adding that if the factory was not ready soon, “I am afraid cane will remain in the ground.”
Before the factory is handed over, the contractors are required to successfully conduct a 24-hour test and a 72-hour test through all its various components to ensure safety and efficiency. Follow-ing this, there would be three other 72-hour tests over the next year and the contractor would still be liable for defects arising from those tests.
Work began on the factory in 2005 and it was expected that the project would have been completed by October last year. Since then the commissioning date has been pushed back several times with the last date being August 26, 2008.
problems with sanata textile,hydro plant at lethem,clay brick factory at canal,bicycle factory,cassava mill at parika,glass factory and now skeldon.i wonder if the chinese work on all these projects.i simply don”t trust communism.
I don’t think that the communism (which I do not support) is totally at fault, it’s the incompetence, lack of proper planning & analyses & obvious lack of vision?
Mine is not a comment on this issue but a question. Do we have enough cane for sustainable & efficient use of this 350 tonne/hr sugar production facility? Will our taxpayers get worth for their investment?
The Chinese contractor says that once the factory has been handed over to Guysuco that both parties should amicably resolve issues of liquidated damages.
If by this, CNTIC Director Chen Yu Yu means that whilst basking in the positive spin of the envisaged handover glitzy ceremonies; Guysuco may be blinded into settling for less than the full liquidated damages which Guyana is lawfully entitled, then Guysuco Chief Executive Nick Jackson will need to keep a clear head and rebut any bullying tactics from CNTIC. China is a powerful country but it must respect the law.
August 26th 2008 was the contractual handover date. Please let us not be confused about this.
I have been following the progress of this project with keen interest via this newspaper. Unfortunately, information is typically limited to the negative aspects.
Having worked in the sugar industry for a few years and the rest of my working life in engineering maintenance in a factory type industry here in Canada, I was impressed by this undertaking when announced. Projects of this size will always have startup issues and setbacks. I trust that Guysuco management have put in place the necessary processes to train operations and maintenance personnel so as to maximise the benefits from this almost quadrupled production capability. I have seen many good projects fail to live up to expectations due to the lack of foresight in planning for education and training of personnel. If there are any shortcomings in training, one suggestion would be to utilise some of the benefits from liquidated damages to be discussed to secure training committments from the contractors. I cannot stress enough the necessity for such training. I wish them every success and look forward to hearing about record efficiencies. Finally, is there any on line sugar or industrial news service or web page available for access by ex “sugar boys” in the diaspora?
Best regards,
Ivan Choo
….. like i had mentioned b4 ,,” all units “,,, MUST be functional in tandem with each other ,, from the loading and weighing of the cane to the culmination of crystals ,, from the juice extracted !,,, until this has been achieved with out any glitches from the cohesion of the tandems ,, then and only then,, can it be assuaged that the components,, that make the whole,, a functional entity !,,
if my theory is correct ,, this is state of the art par excellence and would have computerised controls to initiate it’s function ,,, hence my two cents worth of caution !,,,,, as we r aware ,, most times we create registry errors ,, in the system ,, that makes our computer react very strange and leaves us perplexed !
it then bcomes mandatory that the operators ,, are made acutely aware of how this can result in the total STOP ,,,, of all the other components if one is affected ….