SEKAB TO INVEST $300 MILLION IN ETHANOL PLANT IN TANZANIA

Sekab to Invest $300 Million in Ethanol Plant in Tanzania
By Sarah McGregor
Sept. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Svensk Etanolkemi AB, a Swedish biofuels company, plans to spend $300 million building a plant to convert sugarcane into ethanol in Tanzania, local managing director Anders Bergfors said.
The company, known as Sekab is waiting for government permission to plant up to 20,000 hectares (49,420 acres) of sugar cane near Bagamoyo, 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of Dar es Salaam, Bergfors told reporters today on the sidelines of a conference in Tanzania's commercial capital of Dar es Salaam.
The proposed plant will produce 100,000 cubic meters of ethanol annually, and could begin operating between 2010 and 2012, he said.
Global demand for ethanol is rising as countries, including the U.S., try to reduce their dependence on oil whilst curbing emissions. The price of biofuels has also tracked stronger oil prices during the last year because fuel wholesalers use more ethanol when gasoline prices rise.
Sekab has also applied to develop 200,000 hectares of land in Tanzania's east-central Rufiji district, and another 100,000 hectare plot in neighboring Mozambique's northern Cabo Delgado province, Bergfors said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Sarah McGregor in Dar es Salaam via Johannesburg at 1999 or pmrichardson@bloomberg.net.