Metsä Board Kaskinen folding boxboard mill EIA procedure has started

Metsä Board, part of Metsä Group, has started an environmental impact assessment (EIA) procedure for a folding boxboard mill it is planning to build in Kaskinen, Finland. The company submitted an EIA programme to the South Ostrobothnia Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (ELY Centre) on 22 December 2022 in accordance with the Act on Environmental Impact Assessment Procedure. The programme is open for public comment and opinion from 12.01.2023 to 10.02.2023.

The EIA procedure addresses the environmental impacts of Metsä Board’s folding boxboard mill planned on the existing mill site in Kaskinen. The results of the impact assessment will be considered in the project’s ongoing planning and decision-making process. The assessment will provide information to support decision making, increase citizens’ access to information and their opportunities to influence the process.

The ELY Centre will make the EIA programme prepared by Metsä Board available to the public for 30 days for comments and opinions starting on 12 January. During this period, the assessment programme will be available on the internet at www.ymparisto.fi/kaskinenkartonkitehdasYVA and at the following locations:

• Kaskinen Town Hall
• Närpiö Town Hall
• Kristiinankaupunki Town Hall

A public information and discussion meeting on the project will be held on Tuesday 24 January 2023 from 5–7pm at the Bladh building at Cneiffinpolku 1, Kaskinen. It is also possible to attend the public meeting via a Teams link. The link can be found at http://www.ymparisto.fi/kaskinenkartonkitehdasYVA before the meeting.

Metsä Board has started pre-engineering for the new folding boxboard mill in Kaskinen. The planning is based on fossil-free production and world-class resource and production efficiency. Metsä Board estimates that a possible investment decision can be made at the earliest in 2024.