The work is the product of the conception that the Uruguayan administrations have had to respect contracts, the Constitution, to have a forestry law, an investment protection treaty with Finland and care for the environment, assured the President of the Republic in the inauguration of the industrial plant of UPM II. “Governments in Uruguay do not have refoundational complexes and that generates trust,” he added.
In his speech, Lacalle Pou reflected, on behalf of the State, that from 1987 to date different governments have intervened to promote the forestry chain, the port law and the investment protection treaty with Finland. “Those milestones make this inauguration,” he said.
“Governments in Uruguay, with different sensitivities, nuances, impulses and ideologies, do not have refoundational complexes, that generates trust. There is a Constitution, laws and contracts that will always be respected, ”he pondered.
He also highlighted the national conception that is attached to environmental care with mitigation procedures and processes. He said that Uruguay sifts through everything related to the industry that is environmentally sustainable because it protects the ecosystem with the new generations in mind.
Prior to the official opening ceremony, the President of the Republic toured the factory facilities accompanied by Delgado, Ferrés, UPM executives and the mayors Vidalín and Ezquerra. In this sense, he valued the state-of-the-art infrastructure made with professionalism and dedication from all the workers who worked on it.
UPM Paso de los Toros: The largest productive investment in the history of Uruguay
The Minister of Industry, Omar Paganini, pointed out the historical vision that governments and the private sector have had, in charge of promoting the arrival of international investors in a territory suitable for eucalyptus cultivation.
In this sense, he highlighted the institutional conditions, such as full democracy, the rule of law and respect for the commitments and contracts assumed, and political and social stability. These aspects that Uruguay boasts were key when it came to attracting the largest productive investment in the country, which consumed 3,470 million dollars.
Paganini stressed the importance of the forestry-industrial chain, which is an example for sustainability and care for the environment with international certification, decentralized with regional dynamism, state-of-the-art technology, integration of all processes, international insertion and with the potential of the bioeconomy as a a great opportunity for the world without fossils that will migrate to the use of alternative fuels.
The improvement of the infrastructure at the national level, the connection in a multimode logistics network with the railway, the truck and the port as pillars, were other aspects considered essential to carry out to carry out the work, added the minister.
Details of the industrial plant
It began operations in April 2023 and is located on the banks of the Negro River, near Paso de los Toros. It will produce 2.1 million tons of pulp per year through the consumption of 7 million cubic meters of wood. The work positions Uruguay among the main global exporters of market pulp
It is designed to send its production by rail to UPM’s specialized terminal in the port of Montevideo, which will later be loaded on transoceanic ships bound for Europe and Asia.
The undertaking generates 7,000 direct jobs and 10,000 indirect jobs through the positions in the value chain (more than 20,000 Uruguayans participated in the construction) and 600 medium and small companies. It will redistribute $290 million in annual net salary; it will have an impact of 3.4% of GDP with the growth of operations and 280 million between taxes and social security contributions annually. In addition, it will allow the country to reach 1,900 million dollars in exports of its products, per year.
