China Investing $156M in Jamaican Sugar

Above: the Chinese embassy in Jamaica

COMPLANT, the state-owned Chinese company which acquired the state-owned assets of Jamaica’s sugar industry, is rolling out $156 million to invest in the renovation of three factories and sugar cane fields over the next four years.

According to COMPLANT CEO Tang Jianguo, the company has already invested more than $8 million in the production of sugar cane in 2011.

“We have kept our promise,” he said. “Rehabilitation work is underway including plans to modernise the operations.”

According to Tang, revitalizing Jamaica’s sugar industry demands more than capital investment — policies in support of the sugar industry are needed, as are an interdependent relationship between workers.

The process is aimed at “sharing of the benefits of a revitalised sugar industry,” he said.

Former Agriculture Minister and current Investment Minister Dr Christopher Tufton said the deal was a hostirc achievement and would pump massive investment into what he described as an ailing sugar sector.

“We have all the ingredients to make this a success,” he said. “The challenge is that all of us work together as stakeholders.”

The deal to acquire the three state-owned plants was finalized earlier this week, but did not escape controversy in the negotiation stages, as reports arose earlier this month of alleged reservations on the part of the Chinese.

–Jamaica Information Service