Whitefield Paper signs MoU with AP govt

Whitefield Paper Mills, a newly-promoted company, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Andhra Pradesh government today to set up a 2-lakh tonne per year export-oriented mega paper manufacturing plant at Bayyaram in West Godavari district at an estimated cost of Rs 1,200 crore.

The state government has agreed to provide about 500 acres of land for the proposed project of which over 250 acres has been identified for allotment in the first phase.

T Srinivasa Rao, chairman of the company, and industries department officials exchanged the MoU documents in the presence of Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy. The project is scheduled to start production by December 2008, according to T S Rao.

The project is proposed to be a predominantly export-oriented plant. The company has also entered into a marketing tie-up with Elof Hansson, a Swedish company, for exporting 60-70% of the total production.

The company has also signed a long-term supply contract with the Elof Hansson Group to import wood pulp required for the proposed plant. It is also understood to have entered into a similar agreement with April Fine Paper of Indonesia to meet its wood pulp requirement.