Hebeda Sawmill, Latvia - Vika Wood Ltd.

completed

Summary Of Project Information (SPI)Project NameHebeda Sawmills     RegionEuropeSectorProject No007307Projected Board DateMay 20, 1996Company NameAS Toftan Ltd (Estonia) and Vika Wood Ltd (Latvia)Technical Partner and/or Major Shareholders Hebeda Tra Ab, a joint-venture of three Swedish sawmilling companies, and Thomesto Oy, a Finnish forestry industry trading company.Project Cost Including proposed IFC investment Total project cost is $12 million in Estonia and US$19 million in Latvia. IFC’s proposed investment is US$6 million of which US$2 in Estonia and US$4 in Latvia.Location of project and Description of site The sawmill in Estonia is located about 15 km from the city of Voru, and the mill site covers 27 hectares. The sawmill in Latvia is located about 10 km from the city of Talsi, and the site covers 50 hectares.Description of Company and Purpose of Project The project is to build and to operate two sawmills, one to be located in Estonia, and the other in Latvia. Both plants will have a capacity of 50,000 m3 of kiln-dried sawnwood for the export market. The Latvian plant will also have an additional capacity of 10,000 m3 of green sawnwood. The total investment cost is estimated at US$31 million, of which US$12 million is for the Estonian project and US$19 million for the Latvian project. The project will increase the value-added content of the local forestry industry as most logs are currently exported unprocessed. By-products, such as chips (35,000 m3 solid for each plant), will be exported until a local market is identified. About 40 people will be employed in each sawmill.Environmental Category and Issues This is a category B project according to IFC’s environmental review procedure. Environmental, health and safety issues associated with the project include air emissions, liquid effluents and employee exposure to noise and dust. Each plant will be equipped with effluent treatment, dust collector equipment, and sprinklers.The is available from the Public Information Center.Date SPI sent to PIC April 12, 1996For Additional Information contact: Corporate Relations Unit -telephone: (202) 473-7711facsimile: (202) 676-0365Environmental documents for this project are available at http://www.ifc.org and from the World Bank InfoShop (http://www.worldbank.org/html/pic/aboutinfo.html).