Gunns Picks JV Partner for Bell Bay Pulp Project

Jun 30, 2009. /Lesprom Network/. Australian forest products company Gunns said that it has picked a company to develop a joint venture agreement with for its A$2.2 billion (US$1.77 billion) Bell Bay pulp mill project in Australia, as reported by PaperAge. Gunns did not disclose the name of the company. "The company involved has significant international experience in the pulp and paper sector," Gunns said in a press statement. The Bell Bay project in northern Tasmania has been met with long-running and intense opposition from environmental groups. Federal Greens Senator Bob Brown said if the potential investment partner is not prepared to identify themselves, they may not be completely on-board with the proposal. ''They are long way from writing a check to be a partner with Gunns in this very damaging and destructive and inherently infamous proposal for a pulp mill in Tasmania,'' Senator Brown said. Senator Brown says he understands the potential partner is a Chinese/Japanese consortium, but warned, "'No doubt it will face huge protests if it invests with Gunns, and those protests will go back to its home country." The proposed pulp mill would have an annual capacity to produce up to 1.1 million air dried tonnes of pulp for domestic and international markets.