One year after breaking ground, the Arauco Sucuriú Project, a USD 4.6 billion greenfield pulp mill under development by Arauco, continues to advance ahead of schedule, with civil works approaching 70% completion and major equipment now installed across key process areas. Arauco is a subsidiary of Empresas Copec, the Chilean industrial group controlled by the Angelini family, and the project represents one of the largest investments ever undertaken by the group.
Once operational, the mill will become the world’s largest single‑phase pulp facility, designed to produce 3.5 million tonnes per year of bleached eucalyptus kraft pulp supported by 400,000 hectares of plantations.
The facility is currently proceeding ahead of its original schedule, with technology partner Valmet achieving several critical technical milestones in the first half of 2026.
The project's skyline is now defined by massive structural components that underscore the industrial scale of the Mato Grosso do Sul facility:
-
The Recovery Boiler: Already incorporating over 3,000 tons of steel, the assembly of the recovery boiler began earlier than planned. A highlight of the recent quarter was the successful lifting of the 300-tonne steam drum. Measuring 32 meters in length and designed to operate at 337°C, it is a cornerstone of the plant's energy recovery system.
-
Fiberline Verticality: The industrial site is seeing the rise of digesters that will exceed 64 meters in height (equivalent to a 20-story building) and pre-impregnation vessels (Valmet ImpBin) reaching nearly 45 meters.
-
Feedwater Tank: Supported by a 750-tonne crane, crews installed the 52-meter feedwater tank, a structure roughly half the length of a football field.
The infrastructure for processing raw material and finishing the final product is scaling rapidly:
-
Wood Handling: The system is engineered for a chipping capacity of 3,000 m3 per hour, utilizing biomass chippers weighing 35 tons each. The multi-level electrical room for this sector, which will house the control systems for six chipping lines, required 500 m3 of concrete for its foundation.
-
Pulp Drying: The drying area features a roof covering 30,000 $m2 . To support the operation, Valmet is installing more than 25,000 blow boxes, a logistical feat requiring a fleet of 480 trucks for equipment delivery alone.
Arauco is leveraging the Valmet DNA Distributed Control System (DCS) to create what is being termed the most digitalized pulp mill in history.
-
Signal Density: The automation network will process 60,000 interface signals through 1,004 processing cores.
-
Mill-Wide Optimization: Beyond basic control, the system integrates advanced process controls (APC) and Industrial Internet solutions, including simulators and direct connectivity to the Valmet Performance Center for real-time operational tuning.
The mill is designed as a massive bio-refinery. In addition to the recovery boiler, a Bubbling Fluidized Bed (BFB) boiler will be utilized to generate electricity and steam through the efficient combustion of biomass and process residues. This allows the mill to not only be self-sufficient but to export roughly 220 MW of renewable energy to the national grid.
The project’s infrastructure integration includes a 91‑kilometer transmission line and a 47‑kilometer rail branch connecting the mill to Rumo Logística’s network.
Financing for the Arauco Sucuriú Project is fully secured through shareholder contributions, bond issuances, asset sales, and a USD 2.2 billion package backed by IFC, IDB Invest, Finnvera, and international banks. The structure has been recognized by LatinFinance as the “DFI‑Backed Deal of the Year.”
As heavy steelwork nears completion, the focus for the second half of 2026 will shift to "finishing assemblies." This phase involves the intricate installation of piping networks, valves, and instrumentation. Valmet and Arauco aim to close the year with the majority of electromechanical assembly finalized, paving the way for commissioning and the start of automation testing in early 2027.
The project remains firmly on track for its official start-up in the second half of 2027, supported by a workforce that is expected to peak at 14,000 during the upcoming assembly surge, and 6,000 permanent positions across forestry, industrial, and logistics operations.
