It is now possible to follow via web cameras the progress of the preparatory work for the Kemi bioproduct mill project of Metsä Fibre, part of Metsä Group, at the mill site. Two cameras that have already been installed relay live video around the clock. You can find the broadcast at www.metsafibre.com/webcamskemi. The cameras are located in the structures of the current mill, and they capture current central area of the preparatory work for the bioproduct mill.
“We want to provide everyone interested the opportunity to see in real time the ongoing preparatory work and later, the possible construction of the mill,” says Jari-Pekka Johansson, Project Director of the bioproduct mill project.
The cameras provide a view of the earthworks and the demolition of existing buildings carried out as part of the preparatory work. In the plans, the stack of the new mill, which will be the first structure to be completed, will be constructed in the area shown by the cameras. The core of the mill, the recovery boiler, will also be constructed in the visible area. The construction of the mill will start immediately after the investment decision. According to the current estimate, the decision on the EUR 1.5 billion investment in the Kemi bioproduct mill can be made this autumn 2020 at the earliest, after the environmental permit process has been completed.
The Kemi bioproduct mill project is progressing as planned. Currently, financing negotiations and the logistics required for the new mill are being advanced in addition to the environmental permits. The implementation planning started at the beginning of August 2020. This means the detailed planning of the mill’s technology, construction, installations and commissioning, as well as preparation for the construction phase. The planning work will be carried out in cooperation with the four main implementation partners: Valmet, ABB, AFRY and Fimpec. More than 400 people have been working in the implementation planning organisation since the beginning of August. During the bioproduct mill’s possible construction phase, its employment impact is estimated to be nearly 10,000 person-years, of which more than half would be carried out in Kemi. The number of employees working in the mill area over the entire construction phase is estimated to rise to around 15,000.
The bioproduct mill would not use any fossil fuels at all, and its electricity self-sufficiency rate would be 250 per cent. This would further strengthen Metsä Group’s position as a major electricity producer relying on renewable Finnish fuels.If implemented, the Kemi bioproduct mill will produce some 1.5 million tonnes of softwood and hardwood pulp per year, as well as many other bioproducts. The investment would secure the existing 250 jobs at the Kemi mill. Through its direct value chain, the bioproduct mill would employ around 2,500 people in Finland, which would be 1,500 people more than the employment effect of the current pulp mill in Kemi.