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CONSTRUCTION
CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS
JANUARY 2016
9
In the mature phase of the project, the an-
nual yield will be around 256 000 tonnes
of white granulated sugar (colour IMCUSA
150), 28 000 m³ of anhydrous ethanol (for
downstream processing by Sonangol), and
235 GWh of electricity.
For BIOCOM, the starting point was to deter-
mine which sugar cane plant varieties would
be best suited for planting in Angola’s con-
ditions.
In the end, four varieties of sugarcane were
selected following an intensive bio-engineer-
ing research study, which took into account
farming practices in Brazil, South Africa and
India, as well as historical trends in Angola.
(In fact, the study revealed that over 33 vari-
eties could have been planted.)
More than 3 000 soil analyses were un-
dertaken over a period of approximately
three years at an estimated cost of around
US$300 000. (As a BIOCOM agronomist
pointed out, there are nine different types of
soil present on site.)
The final selection criteria used: the best
sugar concentration; the lowest resistance
to insects; and the fastest growing species.
After extensive land development, the first
1 800 ha was planted in 2012, followed in 2013
by around 3 600 ha, and 3 800 ha in 2014. BIO-
COM set a target of 7 300 ha for 2015 with an
anticipated sugar yield of 25 000 tonnes.
All its sugar will be sold locally under the
Kapanda brand name – a household product
that is certain to inject new energy into the An-
golan economy.