Finnish company interested in Slovak spruce trees

Following the large-scale investments by major car plants in Slovakia, another large investment is the subject of negotiations in another sector. One of the largest international paper mills - Finish company, Myllykoski, is interested in Slovakia. Should negotiations be successful, the company would build a cellulose plant in Slovakia. This plant would cost around 500 mil. EUR (19 bill. Slovak crowns) and would process around 600,000 cubic meters of wood a year - about 10% of Slovakian's annual production. Head of the SARIO investment agency, Roman Kuruc, formally confirmed that discussions TREND learned about from potential suppliers of wood were indeed taking place. 'Negotiations are in progress with this company, but no final decision has been taken. As was the case with other major projects in the past, we must compete with neighbouring countries,' said R. Kuruc. But he confirmed that Trend's information regarding the total value of the investment was more or less accurate. Taking into account the volume of coniferous wood available, Poland and the Czech Republic can be considered to be the major competitors of Slovakia. Statements from the Myllykoski Group have been cautious up to now. 'We always take an active approach to seeking new opportunities and so we cannot confirm whether we are looking for new opportunities in Slovakia. What I can confirm is that our company has not made any decision about new investments recently,' said Taru Tuoresmaki from the Secretariat of the President and company Executive Vice-President