New tapioca processing plant conducts trial run
New tapioca processing plant conducts trial run
A new tapioca processing plant operated by the Lao-Indochina Group Public Company in Pakngum district, Vientiane, is running production trials following almost a year of construction.
The new plant is an extension of the company's existing tapioca factory.
“We began the trial a few weeks ago with only one machine which will initially have an output capacity of about 150 tonnes of powder per day,” the factory's Director, Mr Duangdy Phommachanh, said.
The new plant is expected to go into full production soon. The expansion is necessary to accommodate the increasingly large supply of cassava that is being sourced from farmers each year.
Construction started in May last year and required an investment of about 62.4 billion kip (US$7.8 million) by the company.
The project will provide two additional production lines to increase the output of tapioca. Once it is fully complete there will be four production lines able to produce at least 600 tonnes of powder from 2,400 tonnes of cassava per day.
The existing factory has two production lines and can produce 320 tonnes of tapioca from 1,200 tonnes of cassava each day, mainly for export to China. However, it is receiving at least 1,500 tonnes of cassava a day. Cassava yields have increased sharply and the company expects they will continue to increase each year.
The expansion project includes more land for cassava storage, as well as the new factory, a dormitory, canteen and other facilities to accommodate the extra staff.
The company will also employ about 160 local people as additional staff once the new plant is complete. By then about 500 employees will be employed at both plants.
There are now 13,500 hectares of cassava under cultivation, farmed by 4,800 families in 271 villages across 14 districts in Vientiane and in Borikhamxay and Vientiane provinces. The company expects to expand its cassava farms to cover over 20,000 hectares in the near future.
vientiane times
