MYANMA Paper and Chemicals Industries under the Ministry of Industry
(1) plans to start work later this year on US$81.5 million project
that will more than triple kraft paper production at a mill in
Bago Division, a senior government official said last week.
The general manager of MPCI, U Thein Win, said the project involved
building a new production facility at the Yeni mill at Yedashe
that would increase its daily kraft paper output from 25 tonnes
to 105 tonnes.
The project also includes building a factory at the mill capable
of producing 50 tonnes of paper pulp a day, of which 25 tonnes
would be supplied to the ministry’s newsprint plant at Paeleik
in Mandalay Division. The currently plant uses recycled newspapers
as a raw material.
Buyers for the other 25 tonnes would be sought in Myanmar and
overseas, U Thein Win said.
He said the buildings and equipment for the expansion project
would be supplied by China’s Chengda Chemical Engineering
Corporation, under a turn-key contract it signed with the ministry
in 2001.
“We expect work on the project to begin in early November
after a 10 per cent payment is made to the Chinese company,”
U Thein Win said.
The kraft paper will be made from bamboo and supplied to cement
producers to make bags.
U Thein Win said the number of factories making cement had increased
and being able to supply them with kraft paper would help to reduce
reliance on imported bags.
The 50 tonnes pulp factory will use softwood as a raw material.
The expansion plan at the 620-acre compound at the mill includes
the installation of a chemicals recovery system to process waste
water.
“The new chemical recovery system will bring cost savings
and reduce pollution,” U Thein Win said.
The MPCI general manager also revealed last week that the Ministry
of Industry (1) and a Chinese company have signed a memorandum
of understanding to build a factory at Monywa capable of producting
200 tonnes of paper pulp a year.
U Thein Win said the MoU with the Tsingda Daring Biotechnologies
Group Corporation was signed in early August.
He said the MoU provided for the factory to go into production
within two years, subject to the availability of electricity and
natural gas. The natural gas was needed to operate boilers as
steam was needed to make pulp.
He said it would take at least 18 months to complete the factory,
which would export most of its output to China under a buyback
system. The pulp will be used to make high-quality paper.
Negotiations on the project began three years ago and the two
sides needed to finalise details about the cost and payment systems,
U Thein Win said. In 2001, the ministry had conducted a preliminary
survey at the proposed site of the mill, at Aung Moe Village about
three miles north of Monywa.
The project followed a report by the Ministry of Forests about
the area’s forests and its potential for establishing eucalyptus
plantations, which would be used as a source of raw materials
for the mill.
U Thein Win said natural forests would not meet the raw material
needs of the mill and the ministry planned to establish about
120,000 acres of eucalyptus plantations.
About 3000 acres of plantations had already been established
and another 10,000 acres would be planted this year.
The mill will need about 1000 tonnes of timber a day to operate
at capacity.
U Thein Win said the mill would benefit Myanmar by transferring
technology and creating jobs.
