MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Environmental green light for second pulp mill in Uruguay

Uruguay approved the environmental impact report presented by the Spanish pulp manufacturer ENCE which is planning to build a huge 1.5 billion US dollars plant in Colonia to the west of the country, next to the coast of the River Plate.

The report was signed last Friday by the Uruguayan Minister of Housing and Environment following several environmental impact assessment studies including some from the ministry's Environment Department, which have been elaborated during the last twelve months. However Uruguayan authorities pointed out that the authorization is conditioned to the "strict compliance of the commitments and objectives described in the report, and will be implemented with consecutive studies to be carried out in the different stages of the building process". In Conchillas where the plant is to be built heavy equipment has already began clearing the area and moving soil as well as the selection process for the contracting of labor. With the approval of the initial report company sources said that the number of workers will increase to 200 in the coming weeks. The clearance stage and preparation for the actual building chapter is estimated in 6 to 8 months. Ence which is partly Spanish government owned has a controversial environmental record in one of its pulp plants in Galicia, northeast of Spain, and has also suffered several management reshuffling since it was accused of having too many political cronies in high posts. Ence had targeted Uruguay long before the Finnish Botnia plant currently in full operation in Fray Bentos on the river Uruguay, just across from Argentina, which has triggered an ongoing dispute with the Kirchners' administrations allegedly for non compliance of bilateral environmental agreements. However Botnia with the support of the Uruguayan government which managed the diplomatic side of the dispute that has reached the International Court of The Hague virtually ignored Argentine complaints and went ahead with the project. But the Spanish company under strong pressure from Argentina yielded and accepted the relocation of its pulp plant, --originally twenty miles north of where Botnia is established-- which is now further south on the coast of the huge River Plate estuary and in the range of 80 kilometers from Buenos Aires. Uruguay with abundant water, man planted woods, good transport system and a reliable legal system has attracted the world pulp industry. Besides Finland and Spain, Sweden, Japan and Portugal are also considering the feasibility of setting business in Uruguay.