Today a steady increase in demand for pellets (wood pellets) can be observed. Basically, it is used by power plants and boiler industries, as well as private consumers. In Europe, the first place in the number of working pellet boilers in the private sector takes Italy — about 740 thousand, Germany — 125 thousand. It is expected that soon the main European consumer of biofuels will be the United Kingdom.
Experts estimate that by 2020 Europe's annual demand for pellets will vary from 80 to 135 million tonnes. From neighboring EU member states such as Poland, Lithuania, Germany, Austria, France, Italy today only Germany fully satisfies their needs for pellets. Other countries import pellets, or raw materials for their production.
Belarus offers investors to take part in an ambitious project — the construction of the pellet plant with an associated cogeneration plant on the basis of Ivatsevichdrev.
“This proposal is a profitable investment for the development of foreign business in Belarus. This project will produce products and receive proceeds amounting to approximately $ 23 million annually. The project is export-oriented. Ivatsevichdrev OJSC has conformation from foreign companies on the acquisition of the planned volume of production of fuel pellets. Supply logistics has been also elaborated, — said chairman of the concern Bellesbumprom Yurij Nazarov.
Ivatsevichdrev OJSC is located on the territory of Brest region with the most important railways, roads, waterways and airways. The transit corridor Berlin — Warsaw — Brest — Minsk — Moscow, direct roads to Vilnius and Kiev connect Western Europe and Russia, the Baltic countries and Ukraine and the south of Europe.
About 80% of overland exports from the CIS countries to Western Europe pass through the region.
"The project envisages the creation of new production at the free areas of the enterprise with the use of the waste that is formed by the process of harvesting and wood processing (bark, sawdust, wood chips) as well as firewood and other wood. Components of production of the cogeneration plant with ORC-innovative drying technology will provide cost savings on fuel and energy resources", said Yurij Nazarov.
Planned production capacity will amount to 170 thousand tonnes of pellets per year. Approximate volume of the total investment costs required for the project is approximately $ 55,200,000.
"Our main advantages are a strategically advantageous geographical location, availability of utilities and transport infrastructure, trained personnel, as well as high demand for products in Europe," stated Yrij Nazarov.
Ivatsevichdrev OJSC is one of the largest enterprises of the woodworking industry of Belarus. In 2012, it successfully completed the project of creating a new slab production with the capacity of 250 thousand cubic meters of plates per year. Today, the company produces lumber, wood products, wood chip boards, including laminated, synthetic resins, and supplies products to many countries of the CIS and the EU, and has a well-established trade links.
More information about investment proposals can be found here.