Sudan government expected to pass biofuels bill, fund Khartoum sugar ethanol plant in 2008

In Sudan, the government expects to adopt an alternative energy bill before August. To brief legislators, a parliamentary committee on industry visited the Kenana sugar facility in Khartoum. Kenan, Giad and the ministry of Energy have proposed a Sudanese energy project with an undisclosed location and capacity.

Across Africa, ethanol production has been on the rise, spurred in part by an extensive visit to several African nations by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva last year.  Brazil and Mozambique signed a cooperation agreement for sharing resources in biofuels production and training. Subsequent development efforts in Uganda and Nigeria have prompted assurances that government policy would require the use of underutilized or empty lands, would avoid using lands used for food production.

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