China plans to invite foreign investment in a gigantic
forestation and papermaking program that is expected to involve 200
billion yuan (US$24 billion) over the course of a decade, officials
said in Beijing on February 16.
The central government has approved a national plan to build a
complete industrial chain between the forestation and paper making
sectors by 2010, said State Development and Reform Commission
(SDRC) official Liu Tienan.
Liu, who heads the SDRC's Industry Department, said at a press
conference held in Beijing that the move is being made to meet the
rapidly growing demand for paper and ease mounting industrial
pressure on the environment.
The program includes planting five million hectares of
fast-growing trees in the southeastern coastal areas. The country
will also build large paper mills near the forestation areas, which
will supply the mills with the majority of their raw materials.
The SDRC is planning to construct three or four large wood pulp
mills in the southeastern coastal region. Each will have an annual
production capacity of 500,000 tons or more.
It will also direct investment to several construction projects
for bamboo pulp mills in southwest China. These mills will each
have an annual capacity of 100,000 to 500,000 tons.
For the past decade, improvements in Chinese living standards
have led to double-digit annual growth in paper consumption. In
2003, China used 48 million tons of paper and paperboard,
accounting for 16 percent of the world's total consumption.
However, China has very limited original forest resources that
can be used for logging. Instead of wood, China's papermaking
industry uses straw as the main raw material. But the processing of
straw fiber consumes far more water and produces more pollutants
than wood fiber.
Waste from paper mills has become a real headache for residents
of many regions in China. In October 2000, wastewater from paper
mills in Qian'an City, in north China's Hebei Province, destroyed
the entire harvest of more than 200 hectares of aquatic farms in
Bohai Bay.
The China Paper Association predicts that the nation’s paper
consumption will reach 70 million tons in 2010. Liu Tienan said
that by that time, China will be able to add production capacity of
5.5 million tons of wood pulp by implementing the national
program.
In the meantime, the country will upgrade existing paper mills
in north and northeast China and close down small papermaking
factories with annual capacity of less than 17,000 tons.
Liu said the Chinese government will provide only a small part
of the 20 million yuan investment, mostly as seed money to
encourage enterprises to participate in the program.
The government welcomes the private sector and foreign investors
to participate in the program, announced Liu. The central
authorities will allow qualified papermaking companies to float
shares on the stock market and will encourage mergers, joint
ventures and regroupings between state-owned enterprises and
private and foreign investors.
China will introduce advanced technology and methods of
papermaking and pollution control from other countries, and use
overseas personnel and expertise to develop papermaking equipment.
In addition, the country will cooperate with organizations around
the world in cultivation, firefighting and pest and disease control
in forestation, according to Liu.
Industry analysts believe the papermaking industry has huge
market potential. Its growth will also push up demand for other
industries such as agriculture, packaging, printing, chemicals,
machinery and transportation.
(Xinhua News Agency?February 17, 2004)
