Gov’t Plans New Skeldon Sugar Factory Despite Costly Failure of Original US$200M Project

The Government of Guyana is actively considering a proposal from an Indian investor to establish a small sugar factory at Skeldon, as part of broader efforts to revitalise the local sugar industry and strengthen the agriculture sector through public-private partnerships.

Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha, in a statement released by the Ministry, confirmed the government’s ongoing efforts to restart sugar production in the region. “We are looking to restart the production of sugar at Skeldon. We already started to plant cane there, about 5,000 hectares. By the end of this year, we’ll complete about 1,000 hectares,” Mustapha said.

The Minister added that the initiative includes collaboration with private cane farmers, who currently manage between 10,000 to 12,000 acres of land. “We are looking at a proposal we received from an investor from India for a small sugar factory there,” he added.

The revival comes years after the construction of the original Skeldon Sugar Factory, which was commissioned in 2009, under the Bharrat Jagdeo government,  at a cost of more than US$200 million. Funded through international loans and support from the Chinese government, the factory was intended to modernise Guyana’s sugar industry but was plagued by chronic mechanical failures and design flaws. It never operated at full capacity and was widely criticised as one of the country’s most expensive and ill-fated public investments.

In addition to the Skeldon initiative, the government has also received a proposal from Trinidad to construct a white sugar refinery in Guyana. “For refined sugar, we have a proposal from Trinidad to build a refinery in Guyana,” Mustapha noted during a meeting with the Private Sector Commission’s (PSC) Agriculture Sub-Committee.

During the same engagement, Dr. Komal Singh, representing the PSC, signalled the private sector’s interest in developing its own sugar refinery.

As part of wider agricultural development plans, Mustapha also disclosed that the government is advancing the construction of large-scale paddy storage facilities. The first such facility, capable of storing approximately two million bags of paddy, will be located in Essequibo, with tenders already issued for the project. Additional facilities are planned for other regions.

The meeting with the PSC focused on strengthening collaboration between the government and private sector to ensure sustained growth in agriculture, a key pillar of Guyana’s economic diversification strategy.