the pulp mill PSU 2 of Paso de los Toros formally begins its process of start upwhich will occur “in the next few hours“, as confirmed by the company. The company received all the corresponding permits, including that of the Ministry of Environment.
In addition, the portfolio led by the minister Robert Bouvier granted permission to operate as free zone.
In the start-up process, “work is intensified in all areas and all equipment is turned on until it is stable in operation,” according to UPM’s official statement.
In the following weeks the final adjustments and will gradually increase production “until reaching expected levels” for the plant, the construction of which implied a total investment of 3,470 million dollars.
It is expected that, with its start-up, pulp production will register an increase of fifty% until reaching the 2,066 million dollarspositioning itself as one of the main export items of the country.
In addition, the generation of 7,000 jobs direct and an additional 10,000, which will mean a permanent contribution from 2% in GDP.
What will the government’s environmental control over UPM 2 be like?
Yesterday, the Ministry of Environment published the report of UPM Baseline 2, which is comprised of about 296 pages in PDF format. From the portfolio, they assure that given the size of the venture, “we understand it is important to have this report available to the public for consultation on our website.”
The report contains indicators against which the post-operation measurements of the unit will be compared. new pulp mill of the country, in order to determine if the quality of the environment has been affected and, particularly, of the Black river. The company assured that it presented “all the information required to obtain the permits and an extensive environmental monitoring program that covers the water and biota of the Negro River, air, soil, noise, and socioeconomic aspects.”
The technical team of the portfolio will be the responsible for evaluation and monitoring. This baseline includes information from more than two years of various environmental variables of water quality, sediments, and biota —a group of flora and fauna in a given place—, as well as air quality parameters.
Source: Ambito
