About the project

UPM began operations in Uruguay in 2007, after the construction of a pulp mill with a production capacity of 1.3 million tons per year, located in Fray Bentos, in the west of the country. On November 7th, 2017 the Company executed an Investment Agreement with the Uruguayan Government which established local conditions and infrastructure requirements for a possible investment in a new pulp mill in Uruguay. On July 23rd, 2019 UPM formally announced the investment decision (press release available here). The state-of-the-art plant will be located over the shore of the Río Negro River, in the center of the country, and it will be the largest plant of UPM in the world, with a production capacity of 2.1 million tons per year. The estimated amount of the investment is USD 3 billion and it will represent the largest investment in the history of the country.

The production will travel by train to the Port of Montevideo in order to be exported to the rest of the world. The Uruguayan Government has already announced the construction of the required railway, from UPM’s plant to the Port of Montevideo, for a total investment of USD 900 million.

The pulp mill is expected to begin operations in the second half of 2022 and during the construction phase it will employ up to 6,000 workers. Once operating, the new pulp mill will generate a 2% growth of the country’s GDP.