Times Of Swaziland: RSSC INVESTS E170 MILLION IN MHLUME EXPANSION

RSSC INVESTS E170 MILLION IN MHLUME EXPANSION
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 BY KWANELE DHLADHLA on 17/01/2018 00:44:00


MBABANE – Approximately 400 jobs have been created, 950 hectares of cane
planted and E170 million invested towards expansion of the Mhlume Factory.
This is the story of the Royal Swaziland Sugar Corporation (RSSC) in its quest
to be globally competitive.
The corporation has spelled out strong intentions to reduce the unit cost of
production as Southern African Customs Union (SACU) markets continue to be under
pressure from Brazil imports.
The removal of import quotas in October, which has also put the whole of Europe
under price pressure, motivates one of the most pivotal reasons why reducing
production costs remains a priority for one of the largest sugar producing
companies in the kingdom.
Managing Director (MD) Nick Jackson informed the Business Desk that the
multi-million mill expansion and highly increased sugar cane plantations ought
to improve production which would culminate in profitability of the business.
“We want to improve our capacity of the Mhlume Factory by investing up to E170
million,” Jackson disclosed.
He mentioned that cleaning works were being undertaken on the factory’s
evaporators which would help make it to operate more hours in the year. Through
funding from the European Union (EU) Jackson said they had been able to
establish two grower groups with about 100 members. He said growers had planted
cane at 950 hectares in December to improve production this year.
The growers are: Umbombo Wendlovu and Myangombili.
In terms of job opportunities presented the overall factory upgrade and
increased plantations, Jackson explained that about 200 people had been engaged
for the upgrade through contractors, 100 jobs created through planting
undertaken in December. The corporation has also set its eyes on planting 400
hectares.