Vishwaraj Sugar to Invest ₹250 Crore in New Factory in Belgaum.

Vishwaraj Sugar Industries Limited (VSIL) has announced plans to establish a new sugar factory in Belgaum, featuring a crushing capacity of 5,000 tonnes of cane per day (TCD) and a 150 kiloliters per day (klpd) distillery. The project, with an investment of approximately ₹250 crore, will be located at Navge village, about 70-80 km from the company's existing facility in Bellad Bagewadi.

Mukesh Kumar, Executive Director of VSIL, confirmed that construction of the new plant will commence in the next financial year. "We will start with a 5,000 TCD sugar factory and a 150 klpd distillery. The investment will be around ₹250 crore, funded through a combination of debt and equity," Kumar said.

Currently, VSIL operates a 10,500 TCD sugar factory, a 34 MW cogeneration plant, and a 100 klpd distillery in Bellad Bagewadi. The company is also expanding its existing facilities, with work nearly completed on a 150 klpd distillery and an additional 22 MW power plant. Kumar noted that operations at the expanded facility are pending approval from the State pollution control board, with expected startup once consent is granted.

In addition to the planned factory, VSIL operates a 100 klpd ethanol plant at Bellad Bagewadi. The company expects its new 150 klpd ethanol plant to be operational by next month, pending approval from the pollution control board, which is anticipated in mid-February. The new facility has received a ₹225 crore investment and is designed to run on both molasses and grain.

For the first half of fiscal year 2025, VSIL reported a widening loss of ₹39.12 crore, compared to a net loss of ₹20.57 crore for the same period in the previous year. The company’s total income for the first half of the year declined by 30%, falling to ₹194.03 crore from ₹279.75 crore in the previous year.

HBL