BSBIOS prepares infrastructure on new site to start construction of Omega Green biorefinery in Paraguay

The project was declared of "Institutional Interest of the Country" as informed by the Minister of Industry and Trade, Luis Alberto Castiglioni, to Erasmo Carlos Battistella, CEO of ECB Group, during the meeting with the President of Paraguay, Mario Abdo Benítez

 

BSBIOS Paraguay, an ECB Group company, has started this November 2021 the infrastructure works for the establishment of internal and access roads, as well as all the fencing of the area that will house the Ômega Green project, a mega complex with an estimated investment of US$ 1 billion, which involves the first second generation advanced biofuel plant (HVO and SPK) 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 operation of the biorefinery is planned for 2025.

 

The project update was reported directly to Paraguay's president, Mario Abdo Benítez, in a meeting held on Monday (15/11). 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", celebrates Battistella. According to him, "this distinction reflects the importance of an initiative that generates green jobs and GDP".

 

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.

 

Also present at the meeting were the Minister Advisor for Strategic Affairs of the Presidency, Federico González, the President of Itaipu Paraguay, Manuel Maria Caceres, the Counselor of Itaipu, Mrs. Liz Cramer, and the Superintendent of Institutional Relations of the ECB Group, Ricardo Feistauer.

 

New site is seven times bigger than the previous one

 

The initial Omega Green project construction work has started on a new 484-hectare site acquired by the company in Villeta, 45 kilometres from Asunción, Paraguay's capital. The area is 5 kilometres from the previous one, which had 70 hectares, 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 metres from a power substation (SubestaciónBuey 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," explains Battistella. According to him, the proximity to the paved highway and the power substation also reduces operating costs for the project. The land will have 100 hectares of Permanent Preservation Area (APP), maintaining the identity of the current biome.

 

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 for the Ômega Green project, which guarantees the maintenance of the legal conditions of the project for a term of 30 years, renewable for another 30, reinforcing the economic security for the investment.

 

Launched in February 2019, the Omega Green project is the largest private investment in Paraguay's history and contemplates the construction of the first advanced biofuels plant in the Southern Hemisphere. It will produce renewable diesel or HVO, an acronym in English for hydrotreated vegetable oil, and renewable aviation paraffin or SPK, fuels that emit fewer greenhouse gases and that will be destined for export to the United States, Canada and members of the European Union.

The entire documentation process for the project has already 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.

 

About ECB Group

ECB Group announced the roadmap it will follow to achieve its goals in the next 10 years. With a focus on Agribusiness and Renewable Energy, the strategic plan establishes that the group will invest and generate value in sustainable businesses, with an emphasis on investments in advanced biofuels, aiming to be the largest producer of advanced biofuels in Latin America by 2025. Another important part of the planning is to foster business that will position the organization among the three largest biofuels producers in the world, besides becoming Carbon Neutral by 2030.

 

About Omega Green

The project of a biofuel biorefinery in Paraguay is scheduled to start operations in 2025. It will be the first of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere to produce renewable diesel HVO (HydrotreatedVegetableOil), renewable aviation fuel (SyntheticParaffinicKerosene - SPK), also known as SustainableAviationFuel (SAF) and GreenNaphtha (used in the chemical industry to make green plastic, among other products).