Conchillas, Uruguay 09 Apr 2014 -- Start-up of the Montes del Plata pulp mill has been postponed once again. The company is waiting for Uruguay's enviromental agency DINAMA to give the go-ahead.

The opening of the Montes del Plata eucalyptus pulp mill in Uruguay has been postponed once again. Construction work has now been completed, but the Uruguayan environmental authority DINAMA has yet to issue a permit, a company spokesperson told EUWID.

According to the spokesperson, at least another four weeks are needed until the mill will go online and start ramping up operations. The start-up of the BEK pulp mill is now scheduled for May. The first pulp shipments could reach the market in July at the earliest.

Montes del Plata is a joint venture company of Arauco and Stora Enso. The pulp mill in has an installed capacity of 1.3 million t of bleached eucalyptus kraft pulp.

The two joint venture partners as well as the main technology supplier and general contractor Andritz had originally expected pulp production at Montes del Plata mill to commence at the end of the third quarter 2013. However, a wave of strikes held by Uruguayan trade unions foiled this plan.