Green Resources AS (London, U.K) announced this week the company will start producing pulp in Mozambique starting in 2018 so as to feed the paper industry, Arlito Cuco, a company official, told local daily newspaper Notícias.

Green Resources, along with Florestas do Niassa, has explored 24,000 hectares in the districts of Chimbonila, Majune, Muembe, Lago, and Sanga, in the northern province of Niassa.

The company will produce poles for power transmission lines and telecommunications, reducing the costs of imports. It already has a factory in the city of Lichinga running on an experimental basis for processing the poles.

Industrial production of pinewood and eucalyptus poles is due to start in 2017 and, according to the Green Resources business plan, the domestic market will be a priority to replace imports that are currently brought in from South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Swaziland.

The company currently employs 860 workers in various tasks and, according to Cuco, the number of staff is expected to increase to about 1,500 people when it starts processing the wood for furniture and posts.

Green Resources is one of the largest forestry companies operating in Africa, with 41,000 hectares of forest in Mozambique, Tanzania, and Uganda.