In Paraguay, BSBIOS Paraguay, an ECB Group company, has announced that it has started the infrastructure works for the establishment of internal and access roads, as well as all the fencing of the area that will house the Omega Green biorefinery project, a US$1 billion mega-complex for the first second-generation advanced biofuels plant in the Southern Hemisphere.
A base is also under construction for the installation of the workshop and deposits of the company responsible for preparing the land for the start of construction. The biorefinery is slated to begin operations in 2025.
The project update was reported directly to Paraguay’s president, Mario Abdo Benítez, in a meeting held on November 15, 2021.
On the occasion, the Minister of Industry and Trade, Luis Alberto Castiglioni, delivered to Erasmo Carlos Battistella, CEO of the ECB Group, Resolution No. 723 that declares “of Institutional Interest the Omega Green Investment Project”.
The declaration of institutional support by the Paraguayan State to the project reaffirms our partnership with the country and defines Omega Green as of national interest, strengthening its image before international investment agencies. This distinction reflects the importance of an initiative that generates green jobs and GDP, said Erasmo Carlos Battistella.
The document of the Government of Paraguay establishes that the project will represent a high impact on the national and local economy, since it is a venture that aims at the socio-economic development of the region, the generation of direct and indirect jobs from the construction to the full operation of the project, by enabling productive linkage between agricultural, industrial and service sectors and promoting the use of the energy and natural resources of our country to generate export products with high added value and advanced technology.
Seven-fold larger site
The initial Omega Green project construction work has started on a new 484-hectare (ha) site acquired by the company in Villeta, 45 km from Asunción, the capital of Paraguay.
The area is 5 km from the previous one, which had 70 ha, with the advantage of bordering the highway (RuttaVilleta-Alberdi) for 220 meters on one side, and on the other, with a longer stretch of the Paraguay River bank.
Another advantage is being located about 100 m from a power substation (Subestación Buey Rodeo).
The land brings us the opportunity to house future expansions, with wider space for the development of the port, as well as allowing us to receive strategic partners who may invest in related activities, explained Battistella.
According to Battistella, the proximity to the paved highway and the power substation also reduces operating costs for the project.
The land will have 100 ha of Permanent Preservation Area (PPA), maintaining the identity of the current biome.
Completion of the regulatory and permitting approval process
With the definitive possession of the land, the change of the area was approved in the Free Zone regime defined by the Government of Paraguay on September 15, 2020, which guarantees the maintenance of the legal conditions of the project for a term of 30 years, with an option to renew for another 30-year term, reinforcing the economic security for the investment.
The entire documentation, permitting, and regulatory approval process for the project has now been concluded, with the registration of the area defined, which guaranteed that the schedule for the beginning of construction work on the project in November of this year will be met.
