The Arabian Sugar Company (ASC), promoted by Tanmiyat Aloula Holdings - a Bahrain firm focusing on investments in the industrial sector, will build a BD56.7 million ($150m) sugar plant to produce 585,000 tonnes of sugar a year.

The factory will be set up within the Bahrain Industrial Investment Park in the Hidd Industrial Area and designed with European technology to produce the highest quality 'Icumsa 45' sugar, said company managing director Anmar Jalil Al Arayyed.

Construction has already begun on the site and the factory is expected to be up and running sometime next year.

'A UK-based sugar technology and engineering firm, Sugar Knowledge International (Skil) will manage the project until its completion,' said Al Arayyed.

'It will overlook the complete construction of the plant and co-ordinate with the Spanish contractors.'

Al Arayyed said Skil is a leader in the refinery engineering business and were chosen based on their long experience in the industry.

'The contractors were also chosen because of their international experience in setting up sugar refineries worldwide,' he added.

Al Arayyed said although the second half of 2008 was the beginning of a difficult period for fundraising, the project stood out to many investors as an alternative to what was being offered in the market.

'The support from our partners as well as the government for a project that uses state-of-the-art new equipment and limited energy resources has been critical,' he said.

'We also plan to hire a substantial number of Bahrainis to produce this essential food requirement for Bahrain and the region and that fits Bahrain's 2030 economic vision.'

Al Arayyed said the project would not have been possible without the support of Bahrain's Economic Development Board (EDB) and its chief executive Shaikh Mohammed bin Essa Al Khalifa.

'The EDB were instrumental in the project staying on the right track,' he concluded. – TradeArabia News Service