FINLAND (News release) -- The Lapland ELY Centre (Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment) issued its reasoned conclusion on the EIA report concerning the Kemi bioproduct mill of Metsä Fibre on 6 March 2020, thereby concluding the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).

The ELY Centre, serving as the responsible authority, deems the report to be adequate in terms of its quality and to meet the content requirements pursuant to the Environmental Impact Assessment Act. The reasoned conclusion includes a description of the project and its environmental impact. The next step for Metsä Fibre is to study the content of the reasoned conclusion in detail.

The EIA report and the reasoned conclusion constitute part of the EIA procedure, which is part of the bioproduct mill's environmental permit process. Metsä Fibre, part of Metsä Group, filed the environmental permit application with the Regional State Administrative Agency for Northern Finland on 20 September 2019. The environmental permit application will be updated on the basis of the reasoned conclusion.

The bioproduct mill's ongoing pre-engineering project is proceeding according to the plan. In addition to the environmental permit process the project currently focuses on the preparatory work at the Kemi mill site, main equipment negotiations, financing negotiations and the development of the logistics required by the new mill. The environmental permit is a prerequisite for the mill's Euro 1.5 billion investment decision, which will be made in the summer of 2020 at the earliest. The mill's construction in Kemi, Finland would begin after the investment decision.

The starting point for the planning of the new bioproduct mill is environmental, energy and material efficiency. The mill would not use any fossil fuels, and its electricity self-sufficiency rate would be 250%. Following its start-up, the new bioproduct mill would replace the existing Kemi pulp mill, which would be closed down and recycled after the new mill has started up.