Uruguay renegotiates US$3-billion pulp plant deal with Finland's UPM

Uruguay's President Luis Lacalle Pou has announced that his government had renegotiated the terms of a deal that would see Finnish company UPM invest in the building of a pulp plant in the country.

The original US$3-billion investment by UPM, which already operates one such plant in Uruguay, was controversial because the new plant is located on the Uruguay River, which forms the border with Argentina.

Environmentalists have raised concerns over the plant's impact on the river while Argentina lost a challenge in the International Court of Justice.

Lacalle Pou said in a press conference that under the new agreement, UPM would invest more money while the government would spend less.

UPM will now be responsible for the costs of infrastructure works that under the previous deal had been the government's responsibility.

"We're talking about around US$60 million in road infrastructure and US$68 million in electrical infrastructure," said Lacalle Pou.

The original agreement was signed by the previous left-wing Frente Amplio government when Lacalle Pou was part of the opposition that had expressed concerns over economic and labour concessions granted to UPM in the deal.

Lacalle Pou also estimated that the government would save around US$7 million a year over 20 years in the purchase of electricity generated by the new plant.

– AFP