Suzano to Invest BRL 14.7 Billion in a New Pulp Plant in Mato Grosso do Sul
May 12, 2021 at 06:19 pm EDT
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Suzano announced the construction of a new plant with annual production capacity of 2.3 million tons of eucalyptus pulp. The unit will be built in the municipality of Ribas do Rio Pardo, in Mato Grosso do Sul state, and should start production by the end of the first quarter of 2024. The project estimates industrial investments of BRL 14.7 billion, making it one of the private-sector investments currently under development in Brazil. The initiative, called “Cerrado Project”, will expand Suzano’s current pulp production capacity, of 10.9 million tons, by approximately 20%. The industrial unit in Ribas do Rio Pardo also will be the company’s most competitive. The plant will have the capacity to sell approximately 180 MWave of surplus energy to Brazil’s power grid. The unit should become Brazil’s first fossil-fuel free pulp and paper plant, representing a new milestone in ecoefficiency and effectively. The consummation of the project, which will result in the world’s larger plant with a single eucalyptus pulp production line, is still subject to conditions precedent, such as complying with the parameters established in the company’s Financial Policy and negotiations with suppliers. The main funding source of the project will be Suzano’s cash generation, which could be complemented by financing, provided the cost and term conditions are attractive. The project should create around 10,000 direct jobs during the peak of construction. After its conclusion, the new unit is expected to employ 3,000 people, and support development of the region’s entire economic chain.
Suzano SA, formerly Suzano Papel e Celulose SA is a Brazil-based forestry company. It is a developer of products made from eucalyptus forests and a vertically integrated producer of eucalyptus pulp and paper in Latin America. Its purpose is to manufacture, trade, import and export pulp, paper and other products. The Companyâs product portfolio includes coated and uncoated printing and writing paper, paperboard, tissue paper, market pulp and fluff pulp. Suzanoâs operations are divided into two segments: Pulp and Paper. The Pulp segment includes the production and commercialization of eucalyptus pulp for the foreign market, with the surplus destined for the domestic market, while the Paper segment covers the activities of production and sale of uncoated and coated paperboard and tissue. The Company has numerous subsidiaries, including Fibria Terminal de Celulose de Santos Spe SA, FuturaGene Biotechnology Shanghai Co Ltd and Suzano Pulp and Paper Europe SA.