Back in May of 1994, The Fiji Times had reported that the Fiji Sugar Corporation was planning to undertake about $70 million worth of new projects over five years.
Corporation chairman Lyle Cupit made the announcement while inspecting a newly commissioned $30 million boiler at the Lautoka mill.
He said the corporation’s board would soon approve the new five-year plan with hopes of earning sufficient returns from the mills to finance the projects.
“With our present earnings, we might have to borrow money to implement the project, and this is causing concern,” Mr Cupit said.
He said the mill’s new multi-million Thomson boiler, which consisted of a 12-megawatt turbogenerator, a water treatment plant, and an upgraded electricity supply system, would be operational for the 1994 crushing season scheduled to start on June 7 of that year.
He said the boiler was the most modern available and should prove highly efficient and beneficial, and that the Lautoka mill would then operate with three boilers, and the other old, small Thomson boilers would be dismantled.
Mr Cupit said the board recognised steam and power-generating facilities had been a constraint to proper crushing operations at Lautoka, and that approval for the boiler had come in 1992 after a study by the corporation’s head office technical team.
He added that a $600,000 water treatment plant would hopefully curb water supply problems faced by the mill the previous season.
He revealed that since its inception, the corporation had spent over $235m on capital projects, with over $105m spent in the previous five years alone.
Mr Cupit said the corporation had the responsibility to ensure the continued viability of its factories and had continued to improve factory operations, increase crushing rates, shorten crushing seasons, and increase efficiency.
“With current pressure on the sugar industry in the world environment, changes will be necessary, including rationalisation of operations to ensure that the corporation remains competitive.”
Mr Cupit said the corporation looked forward to everyone’s support to make the 1994 crushing season a successful one.
He was accompanied on his tour by Lautoka mill general manager Ram Karan Singh, chief advising engineer John Korma, and factory manager William Thaggard.
