By Ivan Cairo
Caribbean Net News Suriname Correspondent
Email: ivan@caribbeannetnews.com

PARAMARIBO, Suriname: India’s Enhanced Biofuel Technologies (EBT) has proposed plans to the Suriname government to invest up to US$150 million in bio-energy, the Surinamese Council of Ministers disclosed this week. EBT has submitted a business plan to the government covering 7 years in developing new crops for the production of bio-fuel.

Meanwhile, the Ministries of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Spatial Zoning, Land and Forest Management are reviewing the proposals, while a Memorandum of Understanding is being drafted.

“If the government decides to cooperate with this company and the project is successful, Suriname will play a major role in the field of bio-energy in the region,” said the cabinet in a press release.

EBT claims it is aming at reducing dependency on fossil fuels and relieving pressure on the environment.

EBT is a commercially-driven business that addresses the pressing global issues of the scarcity of fuel supply, climate change, poverty reduction and sustainable development. The company is building a global production, supply and distribution chain for the high volume production of commercialized renewable, energy efficient and reduced carbon emission fuels.

Energy production on a global scale will require the sourcing of vast quantities of crude vegetable oil, the company says on its website. EBT has negotiated the procurement of rapeseed, palm oil and soya bean from around the globe, while creating projects to increase the growth of energy crops in rural communities.

EBT fuels are targeted at industries that are amongst the highest producers of carbon emissions and other toxins, including cement, mining, and power generation.

According to EBT, crops such as sunflower, rapeseed and tree-borne oil seeds like Jatropha Curcas provide rich biomass and nutrients for soil whilst combating degradation of land, a problem affecting millions of hectares of land world wide, particularly in the subtropical zones which will be the focus of the agricultural extension kit’s deployment.

In 2007, EBT will begin the process of delivering the company to market in the UK, in India and alternative energy development markets. For the past two years the company has continually invested into the development of a global platform of corperate endevour in India, South East Asia, Africa, the Middle East, USA, Canada, UK, EU, South America and the Caribbean.