(KPL) A group of Chinese businessmen is carrying out a feasibility study on building the biggest paper mill in Laos to be located in the central province of Savannakhet.
During their visit to Savannakhet province, the directors of Sun company of China said they wanted to plant industrial trees and establish a paper mill.

Mr Chitpasong, an official of the Investment and Planning Office of Savannakhet Province, disclosed last Friday that the Sun Company wanted to lease more than 500 hectares for building the mill and 100 hectares to grow the acacia tree in Phin district, Savannakhet province. He added that their proposal had been forwarded to the Ministry of Investment and Planning for consideration.?If this company gets the green light then the construction of the paper mill will start and when in operation it would provide employment for 2,500 workers. After that it will plant the acacia trees,? said Mr Chitpasong.

He also said that this could be the biggest paper mill in the country, producing cardboard boxes and various types of paper.

Meanwhile, the Lao government has been pitching to investors to build their industrial and service facilities in the Savan-Seno Special Economic Zone, established in 2004, added Mr Chitpasong.

Located on the outskirts of Savannakhet, opposite Mukdahan Province of Thailand, he said it is part of the government?s effort to establish a whole range of industries, besides manufacturing plants, such as hotels, golf courses, retirement village for affluent retirees, etc.

Up to date, the investment and planning official disclosed that 19 domestic and foreign projects had entered Savannakhet Province and are either coming on stream or are already at the stage of production.

For example, he said that a sugar plant of Mitr Phol Sugar Corporation Ltd, with its production base in Savannakhet province, has invested US$22.5 million in a sugar production facility, US$17.5 million to build a sugar mill and US $5 million on land improvement and an irrigation system.

Elaborating on the Lao Mitr Phol Sugar Plant Corporation Ltd, he said, it has a licence on land concession for establishing a sugar plant and sugar cane plantation in Savannakhet province.

This plant, Mr Chitpasong said, needs at least 500,000 tonnes of raw sugar cane per year to enable it to produce 60,000 tonnes of refined sugar.

?The Lao Mitr Sugar Company has already grown sugarcane on 5,000 hectares out of a total area of 10,000 hectares of land concession,? said the planning and investment official.

At the same time, the company got local people to plant sugarcanes on 1,500 hectares of land under the contract farming scheme and they produced one million tonnes of raw sugar cane per year, added Mr Chitpasong.