VIETNAM-based firm Indian-NK Venture has begun to clear the land slated for its 1,200-hectare sugarcane plantation in Svay Rieng’s Romeas Hek district, provincial governor Chieng Am said late last week. The concession’s owners predicted a yield of 60 to 70 tonnes per hectare within three years, he said, and added that a tonne of unprocessed sugarcane would generate approximately US $35. The project would create an estimated 500 jobs once land clearance wraps up. Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries secretary of state Chan Thong Yves called for a further increase in sugar production. “We have plenty of land with potential,” he said.