Kwale International Sugar Company Ltd (KISCOL) is a $200 million sugar processing facility being built from the ground up incorporating 5,500 hectares of cultivated cane, a 3,000 tonnes-crushed-per-day sugar mill, an 18 megawatt bagasse-fired power plant and a sophisticated irrigation and water management system, resulting in affordable, locally grown sugar. The project, being one of the largest green field projects in Africa, is expected to be fully operational in late 2014.
The project was started in 2007 as a Pabari Investments Limited flagship project. It will see the new facility sustain an impressive 30,000 litres Ethanol generation plant. The projected sugar production would help in meeting the deficit of Kenya's sugar consumption, which is approximately 200,000 tonnes per year.
With state-of-the art technology including a sub-surface drip-fed irrigation system, KISCOL is saving on 40 percent of the water requirements for crop growth. While cane planting commenced in 2008, KISCOL plans to harvest 60 tons of rain fed cane per hectare and 140 tons of irrigated cane per hectare. At least 1200 registered outgrowers are to produce sugarcane on 4,200 hectares of land.
