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Arauco's Jabs at Permitting in Chile: "In 10 Years, Brazil Completed 5 Pulp Megaprojects"

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"It took us 10 years to approve the Mapa project. In those same 10 years, Brazil completed five pulp megaprojects."

Thus, the Vice President of Arauco's Forestry and Pulp Business, Iván Chamorro Lange, criticized the lengthy processing times for large investment projects in Chile, an issue recently referred to as "permisología" (permitting).

The statements were made during one of the various talks at the Regional Business Meeting (Erede) 2025, organized by Irade in the Bío Bío region.

Arauco's Megaprojects

Although the executive emphasized that to date, Mapa is their largest plant and the most significant investment made in Chile, he also mentioned the company's other major initiative: the Sucuriú project.

This is the firm's future first pulp plant in Brazil, to be built in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul with an investment of US$4.6 billion, surpassing the US$3 billion that Mapa ultimately cost in the Arauco municipality.

At the groundbreaking ceremony, Arauco's CEO, Cristian Infante, hinted that although Brazilian authorities were demanding in technical and environmental aspects, they also had "a cooperative authority that helps find solutions and make projects a reality."

"That attitude (...) contrasts with the situation in other regions of the world, where bureaucracy and other obstacles hinder development," Infante added at the time.

Now, at Erede, Chamorro stated that "it's not about leaving Chile, but about finding ways to compete. We are in a global context. We have to find the best conditions (...) the plant we are building in Sucuriú has a capacity of 3.5 million tons. Mapa is 1.5 million tons," he explained.

Chile's Loss of Competitiveness

Another aspect highlighted by Arauco's Vice President of Forestry and Pulp was how Chilean logistics have lost competitiveness compared to regional peers.

"In all neighboring countries, trucks transport 60, 75 tons. In Chile, we are stuck with a total load of 45 tons, including the truck," he stated. Forest fires have also affected the country's competitiveness, according to Chamorro.

Another aspect mentioned was the "Viento Sur" wind project, worth about US$300 million and involving 43 wind turbines in the coastal area of the Arauco municipality. After six years in processing and with the environmental qualification resolution ready, it has now entered a judicial phase.

"It cannot be that all projects in Chile end up in court. It is completely senseless. We must trust that the Ministry of Environment does its job (...) That happened to Mapa, five years in judicial phase," he stated.

Finally, the executive affirmed that, if making any request or proposal to the next government, it would be to promote the forestry industry, especially small landowners, pointing out that "we have no possibility of generating large projects in Chile if we do not increase the forest mass."

"We must be able to trust the sector again. 300,000 hectares have been lost in the last five years, which leads to factory closures. In our case, we have had to close two sawmills and two pulp factories in Maule," he commented at Erede.

Source:BiobioChile