MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Botnia pulp mill to begin production in mid November

Botnia set to produce two month behind schedule

Uruguay announced Friday that the Botnia-Orion pulp mill, which has been at the heart of an ongoing bitter controversy with Argentina, is set to begin production in mid November conditioned to the finishing of a bicycle lane and an alternative water intake for the plant.

"The plant will begin operations in mid November, I'd say towards the end of the first fortnight", said Jaime Igorra Deputy Housing and Environment minister in an interview with Uruguay's main daily, El Pais. Operations in the Finnish owned pulp mill were originally scheduled to begin mid September but the Uruguayan government postponed the opening following several finishing construction details such as cracks in water pools and a leak of toxic gas during trials which forced the hospitalization of several workers. This means that Botnia will begin producing pulp after Argentina's presidential election next Sunday October 28, which has always been looming over President Nestor Kirchner's administration as a potential sign of weakness given its intense display of diplomatic and political efforts trying to convince neighboring Uruguay (to no avail) to have the plant re-located arguing alleged environmental problems. "The date is exclusive to the plant's construction timetable, there's no compromise with Argentina. It's simply because there still is work to be done", underlined Igorra. The huge 1.2 billion US dollars plant is virtually finished with less than a thousand workers involved in finishing the network of accesses and green spaces, particularly a 5 kilometers bicycle lane linking the pulp mill with the city of Fray Bentos on the river Uruguay, which acts as a natural border with Argentina. An alternative water intake from the river, so as not to interfere with the Fray Bentos drinking water system has also to be completed. "All the rest has been finished and the plant already has a two months supply of logs ready for when it begins", added Igorra. Uruguay's Fire Department extended the habilitation license conditioned to having signs both in Spanish and English and next week Botnia's legal advisors have to agree with the Uruguayan government on the insurance and environmental guarantee deposit for the event of such an accident. "The company might still have a general drill, although all elements in the plant have been tried and verified. Regarding production, the plant is ready", added Igorra. Last week the Botnia Environmental Monitoring Committee which depends from the Environmental Ministry concluded the assessment of the plant and production system. The Committee is understood will, in the near future, incorporate Argentine delegates as part of the understanding reached by Uruguay and Argentina, following on suggestions from the Spanish Crown dialogue "facilitating efforts". Contrary to the confrontation spirit of the last three years when Argentina took its claim to the International Court of The Hague accusing Uruguay of ignoring a 1975 joint management of the waters of the River Uruguay, and Argentine pickets blocked access to bridges leading to Uruguay, Igorra pointed out there will be no "official opening ceremony", the plant will simply begin rolling in logs to turn them into pulp. The pulp will then be shipped to Nueva Palmira a deep sea port in the River Plate for its world distribution. Meantime according to Uruguayan diplomatic sources both neighboring countries are working on an agenda for the coming Ibero-American summit in Santiago de Chile, early November, when presidents Tabare Vazquez and Nestor Kirchner will announce, following on the good offices of the King of Spain, that a way out to the controversy has been found and they are working on it. The plan is basically to develop an environmentally friendly and sustainable plan for the area of influence of the Botnia pulp mill: an adequate face saving compromise for both presidents with Argentina having accepted the Botnia plant but as conservation champions. However it's not certain what the reaction of the pickets is going to be when a bilateral political understanding for the dispute is reached. Picketers all along have insisted in the relocation of the plant and although at first they were encouraged by the Kirchner administration, they have for the last 24 months been operating entirely autonomous and contrary to Buenos Aires diplomatic efforts. Uruguay's official stance has been that with bridges blocked "no negotiations" (with Argentina) are possible. However this does not impede "dialogue" or the "dialogue facilitating efforts" from the Spanish Crown.