Currently, the $60-million factory located at Komenda in the Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem (KEEA) municipality in the Central Region is wasting away, as it is overgrown with weeds resulting from three years of lying idle.

The harsh weather conditions and the salty breeze from the Atlantic Ocean that lies about three kilometres from the factory have triggered rapid corrosion of the metallic parts of machinery at the factory.

During a visit by the Daily Graphic to the factory last Thursday, it was observed that weeds had virtually taken over the premises, making it a haven for rodents and reptiles.

The rusty metallic parts of machines indicated that further delay in putting the factory to use could lead to additional costs in terms of repairs and replacement of those parts.

At the cane yard, for instance, the cane table which drops sugar cane into the conveyor belt during processing was rusted.

The cutter, which receives sugar cane from the conveyor belt for processing, and the vaporisation chamber had not been spared, as they were also dusty and lay idle.

When the Daily Graphic got to the site about 12 noon, there was very little human activity going on. Just a few of the core technical staff, comprising agronomists, engineers and mechanics, had gathered for a meeting. Security men were, however, around to protect the property.