CMPC Sticks to 2029 Timeline for $4.8 Billion Pulp Mill in Southern Brazil

By Brazil Stock Guide – Chilean pulp producer CMPC (CMPC.SN) has reaffirmed plans to start operations at its new Brazilian pulp mill in the second half of 2029, maintaining a R$ 24 billion (about $4.8 billion) investment despite persistent volatility in global fiber markets, according to Valor Econômico.

The Natureza project will be built in Barra do Ribeiro, a municipality in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil, located on the western shore of Lake Guaíba, roughly 60 kilometers (37 miles) south of Porto Alegre. The plant is designed to produce 2.5 million metric tons (around 2.75 million tons) of eucalyptus pulp per year, reinforcing the company’s production base in Brazil.

This week, CMPC signed the land concession and construction contract for a private-use terminal at the Porto de Rio Grande, also in Rio Grande do Sul, and agreements to build new vessels. The port sits at the southern tip of the state, near Brazil’s border with Uruguay, and is the country’s southernmost seaport, operating on a deep-water channel with direct access to the Atlantic Ocean, widely used for bulk exports such as pulp and grains.

The logistics investments will absorb roughly R$ 3 billion (about $600 million) of the total budget. Construction of the terminal is expected to finish by mid-2029, with the mill entering operation about two months later, keeping the project within its original timetable. Final approval still depends on environmental licenses, which CMPC expects to secure by mid-2026 before taking the investment to its board.

CMPC already operates a pulp mill in Guaíba, with annual capacity of 2.4 million tons, and says it has enough planted forests to supply both units for five years. The expansion comes as pulp markets adjust after sharp price swings in China in 2025, driven by new supply — including output from Suzano — and greater vertical integration by Chinese producers. Against that backdrop, CMPC’s strategy hinges on scale, cost discipline and a tightly integrated logistics chain linking inland production to ocean exports.