Hong Kong-based Green Leader Holding Group broke ground on a $20 million cassava processing factory in Kratie province’s Snuol district yesterday, part of the company’s plan to spend $150 million on 10 processing factories in the next 3 years.

The Snuol factory, the company’s first in Cambodia, is set to be completed this year according to Agriculture Minister Veng Sokhon, who rode a helicopter to attend the groundbreaking ceremony yesterday.

“As the first step of the plan, I hope it will reduce the difficulties of farmers and ensure the market demand,” Sokhon said yesterday.

The factory is set to produce 100,000 tonnes of processed cassava each year, which would require at least 500,000 tonnes of raw cassava from farmers.

Sokhon said yesterday he could not provide the exact amount of cassava that Cambodian farmers grew last year, but added that for this first factory, the supply would not be a problem.

The firm’s second factory is scheduled to be built in Pursat province but there was not yet a specific date for the groundbreaking, the minister said.