KOTTAYAM: The Kerala Paper Products Ltd (KPPL) at Velloor in Kottayam district crossed a major milestone in its journey to revival as the power boiler plant at the newly set up factory was successfully commissioned on Thursday. Steam trial of the boiler plant and speed trial of the paper machine dryer were conducted successfully.
It is after three-and-a-half years that smoke emanated from the chimney of the newsprint factory, which was previously known as Hindustan Newsprint Limited (HNL). With the successful trials of the power boiler, two of the three plants targeted in the first phase are now ready for operation. The work to revive the factory, which was shut down in 2019, is progressing expeditiously. The office of Industries Minister P Rajeeve said the unit will start production by the first week of May. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will inaugurate the unit.
The state government took over HNL, which was put on sale by the Union government, by paying Rs 146 crore in June 2021. The production trials of all the three Phase-I plants will be completed by the end of April, after which the inauguration will be held.
However, the biggest hurdle to resume paper production is ensuring adequate supply of imported pulp. The global pulp market is currently facing a crisis with the pulp prices showing a sharp upward swing.
The industries department is trying to meet the deficit of imported pulp by sourcing indigenous pulp. Efforts are also afoot to source maximum quantity of white cuttings and office waste paper, especially from government institutions. Also, steps have been taken to source old newspaper and other grades of paper from the local market for production of re-cycled pulp.
KPPL is also planning to expedite the steps to operationalise the wood pulping streams along with the chemical recovery plant and related auxiliary systems. These works were scheduled under Phase II of the revival programme. The wood pulping streams, together with the recycled pulp, will help KPPL meet the raw material requirement to achieve full production capacity. The Phase II renovation is expected to be completed at an expenditure of Rs 44.94 crore.
A meeting of principal secretaries of industries and forests departments was held on March 16 to discuss the allotment of wood materials of different species from the captive plantation of the erstwhile HNL and the forest department. Rajeeve will hold a meeting with forest minister A K Saseendran next week to finalise the modalities for sourcing of wood raw materials.