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at its Middle Sabi and Chisumbanje sugarcane estates.
At least 5 000 hectares have been planted at the estates under a Build, Operate, Transfer (BOT) agreement between Arda and a consortium of private investors Macdom and Rating investments.
Arda chairman Mr Basil Nyabadza said the equipment had been sourced from Brazil.
“Yes, sugarcane harvesters have arrived from Brazil. They will be used to harvest cane at the Middle Sabi and Chisumbanje estates,” he said.
Part of the cane will be used at a huge ethanol plant that is being built near the estates.
The ethanol project in Chisumbanje is the biggest in Africa, and is expected to enhance fuel supply in the country once complete.
Apart from producing fuel, the plant is also expected to produce by-products that will include stockfeed, and 18 megawatts of electricity for the national grid during the first phase of the project.
The ethanol plant has so far created over
4 200 jobs with the number expected to rise to 10 000 by 2014.
Ethanol fuel has been successfully produced in a number of countries worldwide,
including the United States, Brazil, China and Europe.
Ethanol production worldwide in 2009 reached over 75 billion litres, representing a 64 percent increase from 2007.
The Chisumbanje plant is expected to produce 105 million litres of fuel a year initially. – New Ziana.