Stora Enso and Aracruz Celulose are to go ahead with the construction of a 900,000 tonnes per annum pulp mill for Veracel Celulose in the state of Bahia, Brazil, in a project worth Ј543m ( $870m) (PrintWeek, 15 November 2002). Stora Enso's senior vice president of investor relations, Keith Russell, said each company would hold a 50% stake in the project and be entitled to half of the mill's output. The mill will become one of the largest single-line bleached eucalyptus pulp mills in the world. Russell said the companies had put a two-year construction period in place and start-up was scheduled for mid-2005. The project is being financed by 45% equity and 55% loans. The loans will be provided by a number of development banks, and discussions are already in progress with the Brazilian Development Bank, European Investment Bank and Nordic Investment Bank. The site of the pulp mill provides not only an excellent location for access to Veracel's eucalyptus plantations, but also good access for port side distribution of pulp to European, Asia and North American locations, said Russell. Russell said the mill would also be self-sufficient in energy and would provide significant employment opportunities in the region. The majority of services and equipment for the project will be locally sourced. An additional Ј187m has already been spent on forestry-related activities and construction of infrastructure, mainly roads and a harbour. A further Ј43m will go on infrastructure.