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Red Stripe sets Sept completion date for $600m waste water treatment plant
Julian Richardson, Business Observer staff reporter
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
A $600-million waste water treatment plant that is currently being constructed jointly by beverage manufacturers Red Stripe and Pepsi Jamaica, is expected to be completed by September.
"We have under construction an effluent plant," Red Stripe Communications Manager Maxine Wittingham told the Business Observer yesterday. "It has been under construction for a couple of months... by September it should be finished."
According to Wittingham, who noted that the firms worked closely with the National Environment and Protection Agency (NEPA), the most critical characteristic of the new plant is its environmental-friendliness.
"The plant stands to have tremendous positive impact on the environment, as the quality of effluent will be of a higher standard," said Wittingham. "The existing regime for handling waste water is considered to be outdated."
Pepsi purchased the soft drinks business in Jamaica from Red Stripe - known then as Desnoes and Geddes - in December 1999, and thus operates on land in close proximity to Red Stripe on Spanish Town Road. According to Wittingham, the new facility will be linked to the existing network of concrete drains leading out of the Red Stripe and Pepsi plants.
The facility will consist of five main components:
. Pre-Treatment Liquid Handling;
. Anaerobic Treatment;
. Aerobic Treatment;
. Sludge Handling; and
. Gas Recovery
The initiative taken by the manufacturers appears well timed, as there has been significant uproar about the disposal methods used by Jamaican manufacturers in recent times. In fact, there was a major fallout last year between the National Water Commission and Caribbean Broilers, when the meat producers were accused by the government agency of dumping chicken waste that resulted in the blockage of sewer mains on North Street and several other sections of downtown Kingston.
Red Stripe's project, which was first highlighted in the company's 2006 Annual Report, is also part of that firm's multi-billion-dollar plant and equipment upgrade in order to improve efficiency and competitiveness. Apart from its sanitation value, the Waste Water Treatment plant uses less energy and water and produces less water per unit of production.
In 2001, Red Stripe secured a $2-billion profit tax break from the Government of Jamaica, granted to facilitate a variety of investments being undertaken by the firm at its Spanish Town Road plant. The tax holiday was aimed at helping the beer and stout manufacturer increase its export competitiveness and brace for potential competition in the domestic market.
"The company has made significant investments totalling some $2.7 billion since 2002 to upgrade ageing plant and equipment to transform production capability," said the company in its 2006 Annual Report. "The installation of technologically advanced and less labour intensive equipment help to reduce overall production costs, which results in the company being more competitive."
Julian Richardson, Business Observer staff reporter
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
A $600-million waste water treatment plant that is currently being constructed jointly by beverage manufacturers Red Stripe and Pepsi Jamaica, is expected to be completed by September.
"We have under construction an effluent plant," Red Stripe Communications Manager Maxine Wittingham told the Business Observer yesterday. "It has been under construction for a couple of months... by September it should be finished."
According to Wittingham, who noted that the firms worked closely with the National Environment and Protection Agency (NEPA), the most critical characteristic of the new plant is its environmental-friendliness.
"The plant stands to have tremendous positive impact on the environment, as the quality of effluent will be of a higher standard," said Wittingham. "The existing regime for handling waste water is considered to be outdated."
Pepsi purchased the soft drinks business in Jamaica from Red Stripe - known then as Desnoes and Geddes - in December 1999, and thus operates on land in close proximity to Red Stripe on Spanish Town Road. According to Wittingham, the new facility will be linked to the existing network of concrete drains leading out of the Red Stripe and Pepsi plants.
The facility will consist of five main components:
. Pre-Treatment Liquid Handling;
. Anaerobic Treatment;
. Aerobic Treatment;
. Sludge Handling; and
. Gas Recovery
The initiative taken by the manufacturers appears well timed, as there has been significant uproar about the disposal methods used by Jamaican manufacturers in recent times. In fact, there was a major fallout last year between the National Water Commission and Caribbean Broilers, when the meat producers were accused by the government agency of dumping chicken waste that resulted in the blockage of sewer mains on North Street and several other sections of downtown Kingston.
Red Stripe's project, which was first highlighted in the company's 2006 Annual Report, is also part of that firm's multi-billion-dollar plant and equipment upgrade in order to improve efficiency and competitiveness. Apart from its sanitation value, the Waste Water Treatment plant uses less energy and water and produces less water per unit of production.
In 2001, Red Stripe secured a $2-billion profit tax break from the Government of Jamaica, granted to facilitate a variety of investments being undertaken by the firm at its Spanish Town Road plant. The tax holiday was aimed at helping the beer and stout manufacturer increase its export competitiveness and brace for potential competition in the domestic market.
"The company has made significant investments totalling some $2.7 billion since 2002 to upgrade ageing plant and equipment to transform production capability," said the company in its 2006 Annual Report. "The installation of technologically advanced and less labour intensive equipment help to reduce overall production costs, which results in the company being more competitive."