The opening ceremony of the Tana Beles No 1 Sugar Factory, built in Ethiopia by China CAMC Engineering Co Ltd (CAMCE), was recently held in the east African country’s northern Amhara regional state. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and other government officials were in attendance.

CAMCE, a subsidiary of Sinomach, won the bid to undertake the sugar plant project and began construction in September 2019.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed speaks during the inauguration of Tana Beles No 1 sugar factory project in Amhara regional state, Ethiopia, on June 6. [Photo/sinomach.com.cn]

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Ahmed praised CAMCE for finishing the project in less than two years, with its quality guaranteed, despite COVID-19 related challenges. The factory’s launch is expected to bring extensive economic and social benefits to Ethiopia, he added.

Aerial view of Tana Beles No 1 Sugar Factory in Amhara regional state, Ethiopia [Photo/sinomach.com.cn]

The Tana Beles No 1 Sugar Factory has a sugarcane processing capacity of 13,000 tons per day and a refined sugar production capacity of 1,500 tons per day, with processed sugarcane totaling up to 500,000 tons during the manufacturing season. Nearly 10,000 jobs have been created, helping boost the region’s economic growth. It produced its first can of sugar at the end of May.

Since it first entered the Ethiopian market in 2008, CAMCE has won the bid to build the Welkait Sugar Factory, with a daily output of 24,000 tons of sugarcane, and has also constructed the 400 KV Sululta Substation and the 400 KV Yirgalem Substation, contributing to Ethiopia’s electrification ambitions.