Rana Sugars to set up ethanol unit in UP

Rana Sugars Ltd, part of the Chandigarh-headquartered Rana Group, has plans to set up an ethanol unit in Moradabad (Uttar Pradesh) at a cost of Rs 80 crore. The proposed unit will have a production capacity of 180 kilo litres per day of ethanol.

The plant will also have the facility for co-generation of 6 Mw of power, which will be sold to the state electricity board. The project will be funded through debt, internal accruals and the Centre's sugar development fund.

"We are going to infuse fresh capital of Rs 80 crore into the proposed project in Moradabad district, on the premises of the sugar mill there. Work on this project is likely to start by October and will take 13-14 months to complete," said Rana Inder Pratap Singh, the company director.

The setting up of the ethanol plant will make the plant a complete integrated unit. The company will sell the ethanol to oil companies. "According to the government regulations, once the company starts commercial production of ethanol, it is bound to sell to oil companies at the rate set by the central government," he added.

Recently, the company's new sugar unit at Moradabad, which has a crushing capacity of 5,000 tonnes of sugarcane per day and facilities for co-generation of 20 Mw, of power has started commercial production. In addition to this, the company's second new unit, which has a crushing capacity 5,000 tonnes of sugarcane per day at Rampur district (Uttar Pradesh), will be operational by October 2007.

"The company hopes to achieve a turnover of Rs 500 crore by the end of this financial year, as the two new sugar mill at Moradabad and Rampur district will be operational," he said. Last financial year, the company's turnover was Rs 200 crore.

The group has also diversified into textiles, informatics and infrastructure. In last financial year, the turnover of the group was Rs 330 crore and this year it hopes to have a turnover of Rs 650 crore.

The group also plans to enter real estate and is looking at developing a housing project in Mohali with an investment of Rs 150 crore.

"Once we get all the necessary clearances from the state government, we will start construction," Singh said.