NSRC to set up Dh55om sugar refinery in capital

Abu Dhabi: The National Sugar Refining Company (NSRC) announced yesterday a new Dh550 million sugar refinery at the Industrial City of Abu Dhabi (ICAD II).

The plant, in which the UAE and other GCC countries will invest, will have an annual refining capacity of 750,000 tonnes.

"The establishment of the plant will take about 18 months, as we are going to proceed with the first phase of production by the second half of 2008," said NSRC chief Reda Al Mousawi.

The annual production capacity in the first phase is planned to be 300,000 tonnes, set to increase to 750,000 tonnes within five years said Al Mousawi.

The land has been allocated for the refinery and its future expansions at ICAD II covering an area of 80,000 square metres."The project is expected to yield rewarding profits in light of the WTO's directive to liberalise the global sugar trade, and the expectations that Europe will decrease its production by three million tonnes during the coming years," he added.

With no major investments in the field of sugar refineries in the Gulf, and the forecasts of a 27 to 48 per cent increase in international prices of sugar up to 2011, the projects seeks to tap GCC markets.

"The gap between consumption and production of sugar in the Gulf amounts to 5.2 million tonnes annually."