A €75 million (£54m) loan has been agreed for the construction of a new large-scale bio-product mill in Finland. The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Metsäliitto Co-operative are providing the funds for the mill, which will produce 1.3 million tonnes of pulp per year.

The mill will use energy generated from renewable sources and a bark gasification plant will be built, allowing the mill to be fossil fuel free. The expected renewable energy generation will be equivalent to 1% of Finland’s current electricity consumption. The project will create around 6,000 jobs during the construction phase and sustain another estimated 2,500 jobs in the forestry sector, according to the EIB.

Jonathan Taylor, EIB Vice-President responsible for lending in Finland, said: “We are proud to support this next-generation bio-product mill as it will contribute to safeguarding and creating a significant number of jobs on a traditional industrial site and bring substantial improvements in terms of energy efficiency and environmental performance.”

The eco-mill has already benefited from a separate €200 million (£155m) EIB loan extended earlier this week. This project represents one of the largest industrial investments ever undertaken in the country.

Truong Duy