Latvia possibly to build a pulp mill

Moscow, Dec 29, 2010. /Lesprom Network/. The coordination committee on strategic investment projects headed by Latvian Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis is going to evaluate the market situation and resources available in order to decide on building a pulp mill in Latvia, BNS reported. It is planned to attract foreign investments. Several years ago the country has already planned to build a pulp mill, but the project was stopped: on January 15, 2008, the Latvian government cancelled Baltic Pulp company which was handling this project. In the autumn of 2006, the largest co-owner of Baltic Pulp, Мetsaliitto’s Metsa Botnia, has already told the government that Baltic Pulp should be cancelled, since the developed concept of the mill was not competitive. Baltic Pulp was then owned by Metsa Botnia (67%) and the state of Latvia (33%). This project started in 2000, when Latvia concluded an agreement with Finland’s Metsaliitto and Sweden’s Sodra which later sold its share in Baltic Pulp to the Finnish company. In 2005, the site for the mill was almost chosen but environmental issues appeared. At the time the project was cancelled, Metsaliitto was going to invest Eur 900 млн in the project. This would have become the largest investment project in this country. It was planned to produce 600,000 tons of pulp employing 350 workers.