Dec 01, 2005. /Lesprom Network/. Lithuania's government has rejected an initiative to build a pulp mill in Lithuania and proposed to the parliament to annul its resolution, which included the mill project into the list of facilities with the status of national importance. The decision was taken following a review of raw timber demand forecasts until 2010 and the conclusion that local raw stuff would not suffice to meet the requirements of the new plant, the government press service has announced. Lithuania was focused on investment projects to expand the production of wood chipboards instead, the press service added. Intentions to boost the wood chipboard production capacities have already been manifested by Giriu Bizonas, one of Lithuania's wood chipboard and furniture market players. According to the company's estimations, its chipboard sales could reach LTL 120 million (Euro 34.78 million). Poland's Kronospan could reach the annual sales of some LTL 70 million (Euro 20.3 million) following the completion of new wood chipboard plant. Implementation of these investment projects would create over 200 jobs. According to the estimations made back in 2002, the value of pulp mill project would exceed $760 million. Russia's Deko concern assumed the obligation to finance the design and construction of the new plant. The value of overall project would reach some Euro 800 million, while Deko aimed to process 1.5 million cubic meters of timber in Lithuania. Finnish and Swedish company Stora Enso, Finland's UPM-Kymmene and Swiss Mercer International, all enquired about possibilities to invest into the mill. Some public officers sounded surprised over the government's intentions to obstruct the implementation of this project, which could attract some Euro 1.5 billion in investments and would secure additional millions of litas in tax revenues for the budget. According to preliminary estimations, the pulp and paper mill would employ a workforce of about 700. The turnover would reach some LTL 2.3 billion (Euro 665.9) per year, while the profit margin would be approximately 15%. Moreover, additional imports of timber for processing would also create added value for Lithuania. The idea of building a giant pulp mill in Lithuania has been in the air for several years.