PORTUCEL CACIA MILL OPTIMISATION

The project is a modernisation and expansion of the existing Cacia (Aveiro) pulp mill to increase its efficiency and production from 287,000 to 353,000 tonnes per annum.

The project involves modernising the existing Cacia (Aveiro) pulp mill, aiming to remove process bottlenecks that currently prevent the plant from reaching its full, permitted nominal production capacity of 1000 tonnes per day. The project will also upgrade the air emission abatement systems to fully align the plant with the specifications established in the new draft Best Available Techniques (BAT) reference document for the pulp and paper industry. It will increase the annual output of the plant from its current 287,000 to 353,000 tonnes per annum. Due to process efficiency gains power output will increase by 3.4 MW to 29 MW. The modernised mill will produce high quality fibre (pulp) and generate renewable electricity associated with the pulp production process.

The project falls under Annex II of Directive 2011/92/EU on environmental impact assessment (EIA) (modification of an industrial facility for the production of pulp). The existing plant, operational since 1953, has continuously undergone adaptations and modernisation cycles to incorporate best available technology. The latest environmental permit under the EIA and Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) Directives dates from 2009. The competent authorities concluded that the project did not add environmental load and did not exceed emission thresholds established in national environmental legislation for pulp and paper mills. Hence the project has been screened out. The IPPC permit from 2009 will be reconsidered by the competent authorities in line with the provisions of the Industrial Emissions Directive 2010/75/EU. The investment will be within the existing facilities and will thus have only negligible additional visual impact on the landscape. Because of the project's location at an existing industrial site, significant negative impact by the project on any site of nature conservation is considered unlikely. Due to the targeted investments in best available emission abatement technologies, the project will lead to reduced environmental impact in comparison to the existing plant. The targeted emission limits for the plant are in line with the latest draft BAT Reference Document. The Bank's Environmental Assessment Group (ENVAG) was consulted for review. The project will use wood sourced locally and from international wood markets under strict chain-of-custody systems and produced from forests managed under international recognised certification schemes. Details of the permitting procedures, potential impact on close-by nature conservation sites and sustainability and origin of the biomass will be further assessed during the appraisal.

The project sponsor is a private company of industrial or commercial character, not operating in the utilities sector as its main economic purpose and not having any special or exclusive right, and is therefore not affected by EU directives on procurement. However, if after the project appraisal, the EIB were to conclude that the project is after all subject to EU public procurement legislation (i.e. Directive 2004/17/EC), then the Bank would require the promoter to ensure that contracts for the implementation of the project have been/will be tendered in accordance with the relevant applicable EU procurement legislation (Directive 2004/17/EC and Directive 92/13/EEC), with publication of tender notices in the EU Official Journal, as and where required.