[www.inewsguyana.com] – More than 200 jobs will be created for persons living along the Essequibo Coast in the near future with the establishment of the Institute of Applied Science and Technology’s (IAST) $100M rice cereal factory. The rice cereal is branded ‘Morning Glory’.
Head of State, Donald Ramotar and other senior government functionaries on Saturday, March 22 turned the sod at Anna Regina, Essequibo for the factory. The IAST also launched its latest line of local product, a nutrition bar at the ceremony.
President Ramotar lauded the initiative as he noted that this is a step in the right direction to add value to rice and rice products.
“We are meeting today at a very happy and important occasion to launch the construction of a factory to produce in the first instance rice cereal, and the first step to add value to our product”. Citing how important this initiative is for Guyana as a whole, President Ramotar pointed to the fact that Guyana being a rice producing country is fundamentally a price taker.
Being optimistic about this project, President Ramotar said more business minds from the private sector should follow suit.
Meanwhile Commerce Minister, Irfaan Ali also hailed the project a success even in the face of criticisms by the opposition who said it was merely a dream. Ali said this sod turning clearly indicates that it is a dream that has come to pass, and even great world leaders had dreams which also materalised.
Noting his government’s confidence in this initiative, Minister Ali said he is sure that it will be a success story even though there will be some challenges, one of which is cheap electricity. He said this will eventually be dealt with as the administration is pushing ahead with plans for the Amaila Falls Hydro Project.
Giving some insight on the project was head of the IAST, Professor Suresh Narine who said this initiative aims to produce food at the very basic level and most of the intended markets will be locally, the Caribbean and further afield.
This facility will have the initial capacity to process 2,000 tons of rice per year; however it is also being built in such a way that if the market that is being targeted grows it can easily be expanded. According to Professor Narine, the plants in the factory have already been made in such a way that they can be expanded to utilise 30,000 tons of rice annually.
Upon completion the factory will employ some 105 persons who will work one shift and over a period of time a three- shift system will be introduced, thereby paving the way for more than 200 persons to be employed.
Within another four weeks, training of persons eligible to work in the factory will begin after which they will be presented with a food handler’s certificate so by the time the factory is completed there will be a trained and equipped work force to take up employment. [Extracted and modified from GINA]
