pulp mill earthworks start / examiner 15/7/11

Gunns finalising tenders for mill earthworks start

15 Jul, 2011 08:41 AM


WORK on the Gunns Ltd Bell Bay pulp mill could be under way within a fortnight.

Managing director Greg L'Estrange said yesterday that the pulp mill project director Timo Piilonen would spend the next week finalising tenders for the major earthworks.

"We are still going through the process - we can start as soon as we have the contractors finalised," Mr L'Estrange said.


"We will make an announcement when the tenders are finalised.


He was in Asia, on his way back from overseas where he has continued to work to try to secure joint venture partners for the $2.3 billion mill.


Mr L'Estrange would not reveal how details of talks or how much Gunns believed that it needed before it could make a substantial start on the mill's construction.


"We are keeping that sort of information close to the chest - the first person that we have to deal with on that is the stock exchange," he said.


Mr L'Estrange told business people at a pulp mill site tour a week ago that Gunns planned to spend more than $30 million on the first stage of mill construction starting late this month or early August.