By JUDITH NAMUTOWE –
SUNBIRD Bioenergy Africa Company is in the process of clearing 150 hectares of land to pave the way for the cassava plantation whose product will be used to produce ethanol.
The United Kingdom (UK) based company is set to invest US$150 million in the production of ethanol in Luena Farm Bloc of Kawambwa District.
The Sunbird plant, which is in line with the Government’s decision to diversify its petroleum requirements, would be producing a 120 million fuel grade annually.
Government says the project would ensure constant and adequate supply of raw materials having allocated it 20,000 hectares of land on the farm bloc.
The land would be used for the development of a nucleus farm and an outgrower programme to produce more than 600,000 tonnes of cassava each year to feed the plant.
Kawambwa District Commissioner Ivo Mpasa said in an interview yesterday that Sunbird was expected to clear the 150 hectares by June this year in readiness for the plantation.
Mr Mpasa said the nursery would be irrigated between June and December 2016.
“The company is looking at clearing 150 hectares of land for the plantation. This cassava only takes about eight months to be ready for harvest,” he said.
