The law firm Becker Büttner Held (BBH) assisted Progroup AG in obtaining the licence required to construct its paper mill under the Federal Immission Control Act (BImSchG). While such procedures tend to be lengthy, Progroup AG managed to obtain its licence in just nine months. The paper mill will be constructed on a site with a total of 453,000 sqm in Sandersdorf-Brehna (Saxony-Anhalt) and is among the most modern and high-performance paper mills worldwide.
Progroup AG invested EUR 465 million in a state-of-the-art paper mill which is to produce high-quality containerboard with an annual capacity of 750,000 tonnes from mid-2020. Currently, the paper mill is thus the largest investment project in Saxony-Anhalt. Thanks to high standards in terms of environmental protection, energy efficiency and sustainability, Progroup AG will be able to reduce carbon emissions by approx. 170,000 tonnes per year by drawing on environmentally friendly manufacturing processes.
In addition to other consultants, BBH partner Prof. Dr. Ines Zenke and her team provided Progroup AG with legal advice in the licensing procedure pursuant to the Federal Immission Control Act (Bundes-Immissionsschutzgesetz – BImSchG), in which not only traditional issues concerning immission control law but also aspects of the preservation of historic buildings had to be considered. One of the key issues regarding the procedure was the communication between the authorities and Progroup AG.
After just nine months, the State Administration Office (Landesverwaltungsamt) in Halle (Saale) gave green light for the licensing of the paper mill project. “It was an honour for us to assist our client and its Progroup Paper PM3 GmbH in successfully launching this large-scale, environmentally friendly and highly complex project. We are now helping our client to ensure that the mill commences operations as scheduled in August 2020,” states Prof. Dr. Ines Zenke.
Becker Büttner Held is a leading provider of advisory services for energy and infrastructure companies and their customers. Energy and supply companies, particularly public utilities, municipalities and local authorities, industrial companies and international groups are among its core clients. BBH advises these and many other companies and organisations in all legal matters and also assists them with business and strategic advice.
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Ines Zenke
Lawyer, Partner
phone +49 (0)30 611 28 40-179
ines.zenke(at)bbh-online.de
Visit Becker Büttner Held at www.bbh-online.de, www.derenergieblog.de or twitter.com/BBH_online.