The Hindu Business Line : Shree Renuka Sugars plans refining facility at Haldia

THE Karnataka-based Shree Renuka Sugars Ltd will be setting up a stand-alone sugar refining facility at Haldia in West Bengal, a non-sugar growing region.

The refinery's capacity would be 2,000 tonnes a day and its cost would be Rs 250 crore. Land has already been allotted and the plant is scheduled for commissioning in March 2007. The project would be funded through equity and internal accruals.

According to Mr Narendra Murkumbi, Managing Director of Shree Renuka Sugars, the company would bring raw sugar from its factories in Karnataka for refining at the Haldia plant.

During the non-sugar season, the company would import whites from Brazil, Africa and Australia. The proposed factory, whose foundation stone would be laid down on February 18, would cater to the demands of eastern India and the neighbouring countries.

"During the next two years, I feel that Indian sugar production would be more than its demand. The new facility, being port-based, would give us an advantage to export to Bangladesh, Myanmar and Indonesia," Mr Murkumbi told reporters.

The refinery would also have a co-generation power plant of 25-MW capacity, of which 10 MW would be consumed in-house and the rest would be sold to the West Bengal State Electricity Board.

Mr Murkumbi hoped to double the capacity of this unit in future to 4,000 tonnes a day and subsequently add cane crushing facility if local farmers support sugar cane production in the State.

"For sugar cane crushing facility, we would have to make a little more of capital expenditure. This would be no big deal provided we get the cane. I think that is possible too. It would be backward linkage for this unit," he said.

Mr Nirupam Sen, West Bengal Minister for Commerce and Industry, and Mr Lakshman Seth, MP from Haldia and the Chairman of the Haldia Development Authority, were also present at the press conference.

"The sugar industry was not in our radar because sugar cane in not available in our State. The farmers fail to get remunerative price for cane. If such units come up in West Bengal, the farmers would get the impetus to grow sugar cane," Mr Sen said.

Shree Renuka Sugars is building two new sugar plants in Karnataka with a capacity of 10,000 tonnes. For the year ended September 30, 2005, the company registered a consolidated revenue of Rs 795 crore and a profit after tax of Rs 56 crore.