OREANDA-NEWS. October 22, 2014. Metsa Fibre Oy, part of Metsa Group, and the Port of Helsinki have signed a letter of intent to develop Vuosaari as the export harbour of pulp produced at the planned new bioproduct mill in Aanekoski, as the company said in the press release received by Lesprom Network.

Vuosaari’s central role in Finnish foreign trade flows and its good access by both land and sea were factors favouring its choice as an export harbour. Recent investments into the port infrastructure and the port’s current role as an export harbour of Metsa Group companies create a good foundation for building a competitive solution both for Metsa Group and the society.

“Vuosaari provides us with good opportunities to develop operations that support an efficient and competitive logistics system," says Jari Voutilainen, SVP, Logistics at Metsa Group. “This is an important milestone in designing the export logistics solution for the investment proposal next spring. Cost-efficient and fluent logistics are key contributors when deciding on the investment.”

The final investment decision on the construction of the bioproduct mill will be made next spring. A positive investment decision would mean starting production in 2017. The mill would increase Metsa Group's annual export deliveries by 800,000 tonnes, equivalent to approximately 35 railway wagons of pulp per day.

Metsa Fibre is a world-leading producer of softwood pulp, whose main brand is Botnia.