The Vice Ministers of Commerce, Rodrigo Maluff; of MSMEs, Gustavo Giménez; of Industry, Marco Riquelme, and of Rediex, Javier Viveros, held a meeting with the CEO of Paracel, Flavio Deganutti, with the aim of coordinating tasks to expedite the construction of the cellulose plant in the north of the country.
"We have jointly identified some key points that need to be resolved in relation to the land registry, free trade zones, roads for the transport of wood and immigration issues," explained Vice Minister Maluff, at the end of the meeting.
Regarding the land registry, the Paracel directors and the MIC vice-ministers discussed the need to generate guarantees in the forestry aspect, while in the aspect of free trade zones, the addenda related to access were discussed; as for roads, the fundamental role of the Ministry of Public Works and Communications (MOPC) was discussed for the transfer of high-performance vehicles to the access to the plant.
Maluff added that a key issue discussed at the event was the National Electricity Administration (ANDE), considering that Paracel will generate a significant surplus of energy that will have to be delivered to the national grid.
“We are putting the MIC at the service of Paracel, a project that is a priority for the National Government. There are several public institutions affected by this large-scale cellulose plant, and the MIC is taking the lead in promoting this project,” said Maluff.
He also explained that Paracel plans to start the work in the second half of this year, but that to do so "there are steps being taken that are related to securing financing."
It is worth remembering that the Paracel project foresees an investment of approximately USD 4.000 billion in Paraguay, which is estimated to transform the country. This is the largest private investment and will contribute to diversifying the industrial and productive development of the country, with an estimated employment of more than 10.000 people directly and 40.000 indirectly in its phase of greatest growth.
Source: Industry and commerce ministry