Maputo, Mozambique, Africa, 07 October 2011 – The pulp and paper factory due to be built by Portuguese group Portucel in Mozambique is expected to start operating within 10 to 15 years, the group’s chief executive Pedro Moura said Thursday in Maputo cited by the O País newspaper.

Moura, who was speaking during a Mozambique-Portugal business meeting Thursday in Maputo, noted that the start of production would largely depend on complex and lengthy processes.

“We have the conditions so that, between 2020 and 2025, we will be able to carry out industrial processing, which will depend on the rate of forestation and growth of the trees so we can ensure supply to the industrial unit,” Moura said.

Moura also noted that the company was in the preliminary stages of tests on a variety of materials, “so we can choose those that are best adapted to different locations and, thus, we can move on to the plantation stage.”

The project, which is estimated to cost USD 2.3 billion, has yet to secure funding, but the Portucel group believes in a satisfactory conclusion given the size of the project and the confidence that financiers have in the group.