Sortavala sawmill to set up briquette charcoal production in Russia's Karelia for 500 mln rubles - authorities

PETROZAVODSK, Nov 14 (Interfax) - Sortavala Sawmill plans to launch a briquette charcoal production facility in Russia's internal republic of Karelia, the region's Property and Land Relations Minister Sergei Sedletsky said.

"An investment project to produce briquette charcoal will be implemented in the Sortavala district over the next two years. The enterprise plans to invest approximately 500 million rubles," Sedletsky said on his VKontakte social media page.

The investor has been allocated a 3.2-hectare plot for the plant's construction.

Production is aimed at import substitution and will address the issue of sawdust disposal, Sedletsky said. Briquette charcoal is considered an environmentally friendly type of fuel, and will be supplied to markets in Russia, the Middle East and China, he said.

Sortavala Sawmill LLC has operated in the logging and wood processing industry since 2013.