Japanese trading house Marubeni Corp is in talks with Angara Paper to build one of the world's largest paper pulp plants in Russia, the Nikkei reported.
The plant is valued at about 280 billion yen ($3.58 billion), the business daily reported.
If the negotiations are successful, Marubeni will design, build and procure equipment for the plant in the central Russian region of Krasnoyarsk, the paper said.
The plant's annual capacity is estimated to be 1.2 million tons and will be fully functional in late 2017, the Nikkei said.
Japan currently imports most of its softwood pulp from North America and northern Europe. Japanese paper companies will be able to cut transportation costs by switching to supplies from Russia, the paper said.
About 80 percent of the plant's pulp output will be exported to China, Japan and other regions in Asia, the paper reported.
Marubeni also plans to construct a port and is considering seeking low-interest loans from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, the paper said.
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