Stora Enso Timber plans to invest e12.5m in two sawmilling ventures in Russia – and more could follow.

Letters of intent have been signed with the regional governments of Karelia and Novgorod to invest e8m and e4.5m in each area respectively.

Both sawmills will have an annual capacity of 100,000m3 sawn products manufactured using profiling technology. The Karelia operation is expected to come on stream in the first quarter of 2003 and the Novgorod operation in the third quarter of 2003.

Arno Pelkonen, senior executive vice-president at Stora Enso, said: “With these investments Stora Enso will benefit from becoming a local processor of wood in Russia, and we would be interested in locating further new production capacity close to Russian raw material resources and markets in the future.

“These investments will also facilitate wood raw material procurement from Russia for the group’s other production sites, especially in Finland.”

&#8220With these investments Stora Enso will benefit from becoming a local processor of wood in Russia”

Arno Pelkonen, Stora Enso senior executive vice-president