Sino-Van’s Tuna Cannery delayed by VT9M monthly electricity bill

March 19, 2024 11:10 pm | Posted in Business News | Share now TwitterFacebook

By Doddy Morris.

Sino-Van Fisheries Limited (Ltd) has revealed that the Tuna Cannery Project is facing delays and is overdue due to the challenges posed by high operational costs, particularly the excessively high electricity bills amounting to approximately VT9 million monthly.

The Sino-Van Project Coordinator, Mr. Vincent Kapalu, informed the Vanuatu Daily Post that their electricity bill is prohibitively high for the company to proceed with the cannery project.

“The company has the capacity to proceed, but to operate the machinery, we require additional equipment, which in turn demands more power,” Mr. Kapalu explained.

“We have raised this concern with the Government, urging them to address the issue and provide any ideas or initiatives that could assist the company, given its status as a shareholder.

“One of the primary ideas currently under consideration is the implementation of a solar system. We aim to install solar grid systems by April and May, which will generate electricity for the large cooler storage facilities during daylight hours.”

The Project Coordinator said Sino-Van Fisheries Ltd currently incurs an annual electricity bill of VT116 million, equating to approximately VT9 million per month.

During Prime Minister (PM) Charlot Salwai’s recent visit to Sino-Van, this issue was raised, and the Prime Minister responded that with a recent Parliamentary amendment to the legislation, Sino-Van, as a commercial entity, now has the option to utilise solar grids as an alternative.

Consequently, the company is currently working to speed up the setup of its solar system.

“I cannot provide you with the exact revenue figures, but I can say that our expenses are excessively high,” Kapalu added. “These include ship repairs, increased fuel costs, and our workforce.”

In addition to their challenges with electricity bills, the company faces weighty expenses when a ship undergoes maintenance at the slipway, which requires travel from Vanuatu to China. This journey also results in substantial costs for the company.

Another challenge they faced after the twin cyclones Judy and Kevin last year was the damage to their wharf, which they used to unload their fish. Consequently, only two of their vessels could come ashore at one time to unload fish for the Sino-Van factory, using other wharves. This also caused financial challenges for them.

“When one of the vessels comes ashore and docks at a wharf that is not ours, it is expensive,” said Kapalu. “At the end of 2023, we completed our floating pontoon, which also cost us a huge amount of money. Now, we await the arrival of the vessels, so these are the challenges the company is facing.”

The Government of Vanuatu, through the Fisheries Department, has been informed but has yet to provide further details on this matter.