Brazil's second largest producer of bio-diesel is set to sign a deal for some 50,000 hectares of land for cane cultivation for ethanol production in the East Berbice/ Corentyne.
Brazil's Ambassador to Guyana Arthur VC Meyer told Stabroek News that a draft memorandum of understanding (MOU) is with the Guyana Office for Investment (Go-Invest) and it is expected that the Brazilian company Bio-Capital and Go-Invest would be signing the MOU shortly.
Meyer noted, too, that during the first half of this year the Brazilian Technical Cooperation Agency would be signing a technical cooperation agreement with the Guyana government to study new forms of ethanol and bio-fuels production.
Meanwhile, Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud has disclosed that four agro-energy/bio-fuels proposals were received from interested firms in Brazil and the United States.
Persaud said these proposals were being carefully evaluated by a number of technical agencies including the Office of the Prime Minister (which is responsible for the energy sector), the Ministry of Agriculture, the Institute of Applied Sciences and Techno-logy and Go-Invest. "It must be clarified that the direct involvement of the Guyana Sugar Corporation in ethanol production has not been determined at this point in time," he added.
Commenting on the Bio-Capital venture, Persaud yesterday confirmed that Go-Invest had been in contact with the Brazilian Embassy updating its officers on the progress and the MOU was "drafted for discussion."
Responding to the April 8, Sunday Stabroek editorial titled 'Ethanol' Persaud said, "the assertion that the government was'dilly-dallying'on a Brazilian investor's proposal for an ethanol project is most disturbing."
The Sunday Stabroek editorial was based on a story carried in this newspaper on Sunday, March 18 in which the Brazilian ambassador had noted that Bio-Capital was awaiting a response from Go-Invest on its interest.
Bio-Capital had expressed its interest in a US$300 million investment following a visit to Guyana in November last year.
At the time, Meyer had said he was seeking a meeting with Go-Invest Chief Executive Officer Geoffrey Da Silva to follow up on the interest of the Brazilian investors. The ambassador said the Brazilians had asked for several items of information regarding Guyana's investment policies as well as a response to their application. Stabroek News was unable at the time to elicit a comment from Go-Invest on the reason for the delay.
Asked what he felt might be the reason for the delay, Meyer had said it might have been just a matter of bureaucracy. In a previous interview he had said he was confident that the Brazilian investment in ethanol in Guyana would be implemented shortly. He had said that one of the aims of the project was to export ethanol to the American market because Guyana would be in a position to benefit from some special preferential quotas for ethanol created by the American government.
Bio-Capital has begun a similar investment in the State of Roraima in northern Brazil and it is expected that the Guyana project would complement that project.
On February 11, the Sunday Stabroek had reported that the State Secretary of the State of Roraima Sergio Pillon, who was a member of a Brazilian delegation to Guyana for the Extraordinary Meeting of the Joint Commission on the Road Transportation Agreement between Guyana and Brazil, had said that the Brazilian investors were waiting on the Guyana government to give the go-ahead.
Pillon had said that private investors were interested in a joint partnership venture with the Guyana Sugar Corpora-tion and have had preliminary talks with Guysuco, as well.
Meanwhile, Persaud said the government was committed to developing an agro-energy (bio-fuels) sector,
particularly bio-diesel and ethanol.
"It is the ministry's considered position that we will have to ensure maximum return on the available arable land and water resources, and we are also very cognizant of some of the issues discussed in the Stabroek editorial - i.e. the competing uses of land and water resources for food vs. energy production."
Persaud said he has discussed with Meyer the status of the project and efforts to secure support for the development of a local agro-energy sector in the context of ongoing cooperation programmes between the governments of Guyana and Brazil.
"Very soon, a [Brazilian] technical team will be in Guyana to work with our technicians in the area of ethanol development," Persaud said.
Behind the scene, much technical work was being carried out to ensure that the decisions made were technically sound and financially feasible, he said, and the best practices and experiences of other countries were being studied. "Yes, we want rapid development of this new sector and to capitalise on the ethanol bubble. But sound technical and financial judgment must not be sacrificed on the altar of haste," he added.
Long before it received the proposals, Persaud said, "the government has been studying this new area which holds out tremendous possibilities for economic growth, reduction of our fuel import bills, more jobs for our people and mitigating the effects of climate change."
He said the government and the Ministry of Agriculture, in particular, "have been very active in the agro-energy sector. We have, together with the IAST, drafted an agro-energy strategy, looking at a broad portfolio of agro-energy options: ethanol, biodiesel, biomass pelletization, and gassification of biomass, to name a few. We will be guided by this strategy, as it provides a balanced portfolio for investment and sustainable growth in this sector."
He noted that last week, the ministry announced, together with Agri-Solutions Technologies Inc, the Ministry of Local Govern-ment and Regional Develop-ment, and the Institute of Applied Science and Technology,Guyana's first commercial biodiesel operation in Region One (Barima/Waini).
- Austin DWI - New York DWI