Arauco, a Chilean group, obtained a Preliminary License to establish a paper and cellulose factory in Inocência, 331 km from Campo Grande. The 20 members of CECA (State Environmental Control Council) unanimously approved, on Thursday afternoon (25), the opinion that recommended the issuance.
The document approves the location of the project and other preliminary aspects. It is the beginning of the project’s materialization. However, to begin work, the company must request an Installation License from Imasul (Environmental Institute of Mato Grosso do Sul) and after this stage, to begin activities, an Operation License.
The project titled “Projeto Sucuriú” foresees an investment of R$ 28 billion and the creation of 12 thousand jobs during the work. When it comes into operation, the factory should generate 1,070 direct and indirect jobs.
Construction is expected to begin in 2025 and the first phase of the project should come into operation in 2028 and the second phase in 2032. Each line has the capacity to produce 2.5 million tons of cellulose per year, operating 24 hours a day. day, 7 days a week.
In addition to cellulose and paper, Arauco will also produce electricity by burning wood residues (roots, branches), with a capacity of 420 MW. Much of this energy will be consumed by the factory itself and the surplus will be exported.
In Mato Grosso do Sul, the group already owns Mahal, a forestry company that has more than 60 thousand hectares of cultivated forests in Inocência, Água Clara, Três Lagoas, Aparecida do Taboado, Selvíria and Chapadão do Sul.
Study – The EIA/RIMA (Environmental Impact Study and Environmental Impact Report) shows the characterization of the enterprise, environmental diagnosis, physical, biotic and socioeconomic resources, identification and assessment of environmental impacts and complementary studies. In addition to all the documentation, technical reports and certificates that Imasul requires.
“We are having the opportunity to welcome another large project, such as the Suzano factory in Ribas do Rio Pardo. We take every precaution, both from an environmental and urban infrastructure point of view, to support this sudden growth that Innocence will have”, said the Secretary of Environment, Development, Science, Technology and Innovation (Semadesc), Jaime Verruck.
Adding Arauco’s investments in Innocência and the construction of the Suzano factory in Ribas do Rio Pardo, this amounts to almost R$50 billion in the cellulose sector in Mato Grosso do Sul.
The study also measured the truck traffic on the highways that circulate in Innocência to prove that there will be no significant change in the flow.
The location was chosen taking into account the condition of the area, the logistics of the region, tax incentives, the location of the city and the direction of the winds and even the proximity of a watercourse , in this case the Sucuriú River.
Arauco has already signed a protocol of intentions with the City of Innocência to provide the municipality with the necessary infrastructure to meet the economic, social, logistical, fiscal and population impacts resulting from the installation of the factory.
