Government okays Berl application to produce jatropha diesel
Bio Energy Resources Limited acting chief executive officer and finance manager Chikaiko Chadzunda says the company will produce between 200 000 to 250 000 litres of jatropha diesel by next year.
This follows government approval for the company to start local production of the commodity. The development means Malawi will save foreign exchange used to purchase the valuable commodity.
Currently, according to Chadzunda, the company has 100 000 litres of the diesel in stock, which it intends to sell using its set outlet but plans to upscale production are at an advanced stage.
Berl started the research project to extract diesel from jatropha four years ago. The project is supported by technical assistance from the Ministry of Natural Resources, Energy and Mining and Lilongwe Technical College.
Speaking in an interview in Lilongwe last Wednesday, Chadzunda said the restructuring process the company was undergoing is over and Malawians will be kept abreast of the developments taking place within the company.
Chadzunda said: “We were undergoing restructuring and that is why there was silence from our part. However, what the nation should know is that we are heading in the right direction.”
“Currently, we have 100 000 litres of jatropha diesel in our stock which we will be selling through our outlets. By next year, we will go up to 200 000 to 250 000 litres of diesel and this is good news to the country because more users will access our diesel,” he told Business Review.
He said in the next five years, Berl will be providing 2.5 percent of the country’s diesel needs.
Recently, the Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBS) awarded Bio Energy Resource Limited (Berl) a pre-permit approval to manufacture, sell and distribute diesel.
According to a letter from the MBS, signed by director general Davlin Chokazinga, Berl was given the approval to start manufacturing, selling and distribution of the jatropha-powered blended diesel (96 percent), pure diesel (four percent) and jatropha oil, with immediate effect.
“This permit approval follows the compliance of both your production processes and product with the minimum requirement of the relevant standards following our follow-up audit assessment. You are, therefore, expected to ensure total compliance of your operation and product to the relevant MBS standards,” reads the letter in part.
According to Chadzunda, about $8.1 million (roughly K3 billion) was pumped into this project, even though there were some challenges the company faced Chadzunda, said Berl will be offering farmers better prices ranging from K100 to K130 per kilogramme of jatropha.
Malawi has intensified efforts to secure alternative fuel sources as one way of reducing money spent on buying fuel from other countries.
Trials to use ethanol in vehicles are also progressing well and the product will be found in filling stations before the end of the year. Government expects some 36 million litres of ethanol, to be produced locally.
