$100 million cassava ethanol plant slated for Papua New Guinea

In Papua New Guinea, a $100 million cassava ethanol plant is under development in Launakalana, in Central province. The developers, Changhae Tapioka, will select varietals from a pilot growing program and 43,000 acres when the plantation development effort is complete.

A study by SJH Associates demonstrated that a $60 million investment in an ethanol plant results in more than $110 million in increased economic activity, and that farmers who invest $20,000 in ethanol plants receive an average 13.3 percent return on their investment. The study was cited by the Nigerian Cassava Growers Association, who projected that Nigeria will save over $6.1 billion by 2012 on the importation of kerosene and gasoline.
In China, the province of Guangxi said that a cassava (tapioca) shortage may lead it to curtail ethanol production projections for this year, and have cast doubt on the province’s plans to double production by 2010. Provincial officials originally set a production goal of 1 million tons of ethanol but is looking now at a best-case scenario of 200,000 tonnes.

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