Ethanol fuel plant

A US company is seeking a million acres of land in Sri Lanka to produce sugar cane and from that ethanol as a by-product for use as a commercial fuel, its local representative said.

The local representative, who declined to be named or provide the name of the US company since all plans were yet to be finalized, said they would be discussing the project with the Ministry of Agriculture Crops.

“The US company needs a million acres or something around that figure. It’s a good project for Sri Lanka because vehicle fuel is being turned out from it,” he said.

The company plans to plant sugar cane or maize and set up an ethanol fuel processing plant. He said plans are still in the exploratory stage as it depends on whether “this amount of land is available.”