JDWS to set up ethanol plant

KARACHI: JDW Sugar Mills Limited, a producer of crystalline sugar, said on Wednesday it plans to build an ethanol distillery with a daily capacity of up to 230,000 litres by January 2025.

The company, which also generates electricity and manages corporate farms, said in a notice to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) that its board of directors had approved the project, which will use its own sugar molasses as raw material. “The board has resolved to set up an ethanol/ distillery project having per day production capacity of 200,000-230,000 litres,” teh company said.

Ethanol is a key industrial chemical used as a solvent, in the synthesis of other organic chemicals, and as an additive to automotive gasoline.

"The ethanol project is expected to achieve COD [Commercial Operation Date] by January 2025, subject to fulfilment of all corporate and regulatory requirements," the notice said.

The company did not disclose the estimated cost or financing details of the project, which it said will be state of the art and produce export-quality ethanol.