The Xunta assures that the textile fibre factory will be a boost for the digitalisation of the forestry industry and new uses of wood.

The Galician government guarantees maximum administrative flexibility as it considers this initiative a strategic industrial project.

The Xunta has announced its intention to hold a new meeting with the central government to identify the instruments, within the European funds, in which this project can fit.

4 May 2022

The Vice-President for Economy and Acting Regional Minister of Economy, Enterprise and Innovation, Francisco Conde, and the Acting Regional Minister of Rural Affairs, José González, together with the CEO of Altri, Jose Sonar, and the general manager of the company Impulsa Galicia, Enyd López, held a meeting this morning in the Cidade da Cultura with the Galician forestry sector about the textile fibre factory project.

In his speech, Conde assured that the textile fibre factory would be a boost for the forestry industry, both from the point of view of the new uses in wood, as well as the digitalisation of the sector and progress in eco-innovation and eco-design. He also highlighted the capacity of this initiative to generate quality employment and attract both new industries and investments in the forestry and textile sectors. In this regard, Altri foresees the creation of more than 2,500 direct and indirect jobs and an investment of 800 million euros.

The Acting Vice-President for Economy pointed out that what matters now is the development of a joint work of all the administrations so that the factory generates the desired impact. Thus, he explained that for the Xunta it will be a strategic industrial project, which will allow its processing to be more agile, which will help to reduce the processing times by half, while maintaining all legal, technical and environmental guarantees.

Conde also recalled that the central government is aware of this project, as it is one of those that Galicia selected and presented as a priority, as requested by the state government. He advanced the intention of the Xunta to hold a new meeting with the central government to update the status of the project and identify the instruments, within the European funds, that would allow is implementation.

Conde thanked Altri for its confidence and commitment to establish itself in Galicia and stressed that it is a project will generate value throughout the forest-industry chain. The meeting evaluated the impact of the factory on the Galician forestry sector, which produces 10 million cubic metres of industrial wood; and explained the tools available to the Galician government to ensure the diversity of forest resources such as the Galician Forest Plan or the preparation of the permanent forest inventory.

This project will provide an important boost for the rural environment and for the sustainable management of Galicia’s forests and forestry.