The current national demand for sugar stands at 5.6 million quintal. The country is poised to beat the local demand as the Omo Kuraz Sugar Factory is nearing completion. With the completion of the sugar factory, the country will have a local potential of producing over eight million quintals of sugar every year. Wonji Shoa, Metehara, Fincha and Omo Kuraz share the stated amount of sugar produced locally, with Omo Kuraz producing over five million quintals per year.
According to Metals and Engineering Corporation which undertakes the construction work, the Omo Kuraz Sugar Factory is now 95 per cent complete raising expectations for surplus production of sugar in the country. Project General Manager Colonel Yohannes Tikesa told ENA that his team is making every effort to start pilot production.
The factory, which covers 420 thousand hectares of land, contains six sugar factories. Compared with such mega projects taken by foreigners, the involvement of local manpower and technology minimized the overall cost of the factory by up to 40 per cent, said the general manager.
Colonel Yohannes is confident that their experience in building sugar factories in the country will help them take similar big projects abroad. Mesfin Industrial Engineering, sub-contractor of the project, manufactures more than 90 per cent of equipment for the factory.
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