Corporates in crude palm oil venture

JOINT VENTURE:A joint venture crude palm oil (CPO) mill set up by Agalawatte Plantations Ltd. Elpitiya Plantations Ltd, and Namunukula Plantations Ltd., under AEN Palm Oil Processing (Pvt) Ltd. (AENP) commenced commercial production recently.

The total investment on the project has been around Rs. 250 million and was set up with the help of expertise from Malaysia. All equipment was manufactured in Malaysia and the entire factory designed by Ashwin Consultants, Malaysia.

Local contractors for the project were Wijaya Engineering. Agalawatte, Elpitiya and Namunukula Plantations are majority owned by Sri Lankan corporate heavyweights Mackwoods, Aitken Spence and Richard Pieris respectively. The mill is equipped with a steam turbine, where the steam required for the mill is generated by a steam boiler.

Palm fruit from all three plantation companies will be processed in this mill and CPO exported overseas. Plans are also under way to expand production further and also promote the growing of oil palm with smallholders in the area.

The opening was a low key affair with all the shareholders, directors and senior management of all three companies attending the ceremony and seeing at first hand the operation of this state-of-the-art palm oil mill, which is only the second such facility in Sri Lanka in the last 30 years or more.