Mikhail Shamolin, President of Segezha Group (a Sistema company), and Arthur Parfenchikov, Head of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, signed a letter of intent for the implementation of the “Segezha West PPM Construction Project”.
The investments are estimated at RUB 178 billion ($2.4 billion). Upon completion, the complex is projected to have an annual production capacity of 1.5 million tonnes, bringing 700 high-tech jobs to the region. The facility will process pulpwood from Karelia and foster growth in non-commodity exports and import substituted products with high-added value. It will also support ecology in the city of Segezha, improve the city’s heat and power supply, and allow Segezha Group to expand its charitable initiatives in the region to improve the wellbeing and socio-economic levels of the local community.
Mikhail Shamolin, President of Segezha Group, says: “As part of the Segezha West project, we will build a state-of-the-art biotechnological complex using the best technologies in the pulp and paper manufacturing industry. In December 2020, we signed a trilateral agreement with the Republic of Karelia and Russia’s Ministry of Economic Development on the protection and promotion of investments and received residential status in Russia’s Arctic zone. Today’s document solidifies our collective efforts. The creation of a new pulp and paper manufacturing complex will have a positive effect on the forestry industry not only in the Republic of Karelia, but across the entire northwest region of Russia. This could well represent the first step toward shifting the balance of power in the forestry industry at the international level. Commissioning the Segezha West biotechnological complex will also enable us to address ecological challenges in the city of Segezha, as well as issues related to the city’s heat and power supply.”
