Petrojam Ethanol Limited (PEL), the government's alcohol dehydration facility which was controversially added to the assets sought by Infinity BioEnergy last year, is still up for sale, but is yet to attract any serious interest from applicants seeking to acquire portions of the Sugar Company of Jamaica.

PEL, though it is owned by energy company Petrojam Limited, was co-opted and thrown into the pot during the final stages of negotiation with the ethanol producers last year, before the Government pulled the plug on discussions after the Brazilians failed to come up with the cash required to seal the deal.

But despite retaining the asset in the sugar packages now being sold, enquiries about the plant have been almost non-existent.

"So far, we have not had sustained interest from anyone on the PEL plant," Aubyn Hill, chairman of SCJ Holdings Limited said, at a press conference at Bernard Lodge Sugar Estate on Wednesday ," but technically it is still on offer."

"One of the parties had expressed interest, but it was not a very strong interest," added Hill, who is also chairman of the sugar negotiating team, charged with the responsibility of freeing the Government of the sugar assets that have accumulated losses of almost $20 billion.

The debts are to remain with Sugar Company of Jamaica, chaired by Robert Levy, according to Hill.

SCJ Holdings has been charged with selling the five-decade old sugar assets.

PEL was developed in the 1980s to take advantage of America's concessions, under the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI), for regional trading partners to supply up to seven per cent of the US market with fuel grade ethanol duty free.

The plant was resuscitated earlier this decade when Coimex, a sugar and ethanol producer, funded its rehabilitation and provided the feedstock for the 40-million-gallon- a-year facility.

But even as the negotiators await a serious buyer, the government could seek to have a private and separate sale, Hill said.

PEL, when it was put up for sale had a fair market value of US$14.5 million, and was priced at US$15 million in the sugar package that Infinity was to acquire.

mark.titus@gleanerjm.com