SVETLOGORSK, 14 February (BelTA) – The new bleached sulfate pulp plant based on Svetlogorsk Pulp and Board Mill should strive for a new development stage. Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko made the statement as he visited the enterprise on 14 February, BelTA has learned.
Aleksandr Lukashenko said: “We need deep conversion of the pulp. We need to use the pulp to make appropriate packaging materials and sacks.”
The head of state reminded about the standing instruction to reduce the use of environmentally unfriendly plastic as much as possible: “This is why we have to stop using plastic. Everything – pastry, buns, and the rest – should be wrapped in paper. We have a lot of it. But this pulp should be used to create proper packaging and other materials.”
The president mentioned he had decided in favor of buying the necessary equipment and building a manufacturing division next to the plant this year at the latest. “It won't be cheap. It may cost €80 million. But we will go for it. We will place machine and will process pulp here. In this manner we will process 300,000-350,000 tonnes out of the 400,000 tonnes of pulp you will make here and will ship to our enterprises. We will have 50,000 tonnes left for export,” the head of state said.
Aleksandr Lukashenko mentioned the production of viscose pulp as another business avenue that should also be promptly explored. “This enterprise can do it. You will need asp and alder, of which we have plenty these days. This kind of wood just rots without use. This is why we have to hurry up and process it here,” Aleksandr Lukashenko stated.
The head of state remarked that viscose pulp will be in demand at a neighboring enterprise in Svetlogorsk. This raw material has to be imported for now.
“In other words, everything you make here today can be sold at a solid profit. It is normal. You will have to repay the loan you've taken and pay off the state budget,” the head of state noted.
Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed the importance of deep conversion of raw materials and the manufacturing of ready-made products that sell well. “It is a totally new level for our country,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
In his words, he came to visit the enterprise in order to make sure how the instructions to build a new enterprise had been fulfilled.
Speaking about past problems of cooperation with the Chinese company CAMCE in the course of building the enterprise, Aleksandr Lukashenko spoke in positive terms about the fact that Belarusian specialists had managed to independently commission the enterprise in the end. “Well done. I am grateful! It is the second goal of my arrival – to thank you for making this enterprise yourselves and making good products now after getting rid of the careless contractor,” Aleksandr Lukashenko concluded.
