Govt reworks plan to redevelop lone sugar mill
Panaji: The government has initiated a third attempt to redevelop the Sanjivani Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana Limited (SSSKL) at Dharbandora, under the design, finance, build, operate and transfer (DFBOT) model through the public private partnership (PPP) mode, as per official data.
The proposed project aims to set up a modern facility with a sugarcane crushing capacity of not less than 3,500 tonnes per day (TPD). It also includes
production of syrup as raw material for a proposed distillery, along with an ethanol distillery of not less than 75 KLPD and/or an extra neutral alcohol (ENA) bottling plant.
The redevelopment will be carried out in two phases.
Phase I will involve establishing a crushing capacity of 1,250 TPD and a distillery or ENA plant of at least 30 KLPD within one year of signing the agreement. Phase II will expand capacity to 3,500 TPD along with a 75 KLPD distillery or ENA facility within seven years.
The revival of SSSKL has faced setbacks in the past. In October 2022, two bids were received, but the evaluation committee found that neither met the required technical and financial criteria under the request for qualification (RFQ).
In the second attempt, the RFQ was reissued in January 2024 with relaxed criteria. No bids were received despite three extensions, and when the bid was opened on June 18, 2024, it was confirmed that no bidders had participated.
The total land available for the project is about 2,40,000 sqm.
Following this, the government has launched a third attempt with revised plans, including phased redevelopment and integration of ethanol and ENA production.
As per the request for proposal (RFP), sugarcane is currently cultivated on about 550 hectares in Goa, producing around 60,000 tonnes annually. Prior to its closure after the 2019-20 crushing season, SSSKL had also sourced sugarcane from neighbouring states.
