The trial will continue for two months before the official commissioning in October, Business Daily reported, citing West Valley Sugar Company managing director Bernard Soi.

The initial installed crushing capacity will be 1,250 tonnes of canes per day (TCD), increasing to 2,500 tonnes.

The project is 75 percent complete, the report said.

In December 2022, the government allowed traders to import 100,000 tonnes of sugar from outside the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa region to curb the sugar shortage in the country.