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Raw materials & energyPortfolio & StrategyOperations & Footprint 15 Sep 2026

Arauco advances rail and forestry logistics for Brazil's Sucuriu pulp mill

Arauco has begun lifting the 18 beams of a 270-metre rail bridge over the Sao Mateus stream at Inocencia, Mato Grosso do Sul, part of a BRL 2.4bn, 45km spur linking its Sucuriu pulp mill to the Rumo Malha Norte network and on to the Port of Santos. The company has also taken delivery of the first 108 of 254 forestry harvesting machines ordered under a BRL 500m investment, with the first harvesting module due to start in December 2026. Arauco expects to complete the railway and start up the mill, which it describes as the world's largest single-line pulp mill, at the end of 2027.

Why this mattersRail-to-port capacity and a harvesting fleet on the ground remove two of the main execution risks from the end-2027 start-up of Brazil's largest pulp mill.

  • Beam lifting on the 270-metre, 18-beam rail bridge over the Sao Mateus stream began in September 2026 and is due to finish by the end of the month
  • The rail project carries planned investment of BRL 2.4bn, covering 45km of track to the Rumo Malha Norte network plus 9km inside the industrial site
  • Planned operations involve 26 locomotives and 721 wagons, with each train carrying up to 9,600 tonnes of pulp, removing about 190 truck trips a day from local roads
  • Arauco has received the first 108 of 254 forestry machines ordered under a BRL 500m investment; the first harvesting module starts in December 2026 and the second in February 2027
  • Arauco expects to complete the railway and start up the Sucuriu mill at Inocencia at the end of 2027
  • More than 14,000 jobs are expected during construction and about 6,000 in industrial, forestry and logistics roles once operating, out of up to 20,000 opportunities in total
  • Delivered machines to date include 26 harvesters, 6 forwarders and 76 support trucks, part of a 254-machine, BRL 500m (USD 97m) fleet
  • Ten harvesting modules are planned, with combined capacity of more than 1.1m cubic metres of wood a month
  • Full fleet target is 128 harvesters and 50 forwarders alongside the 76 trucks already delivered
  • The Sucuriu mill will have rated capacity of 3.5m tonnes of pulp a year once operational
  • The overall Projeto Sucuriu investment is put at USD 4bn (BRL 23bn)
  • The dedicated rail spur cost is stated at USD 0.5bn (BRL 2.4bn)
  • Total Sucuriu project investment is estimated at USD 4.6bn, with 3.5m tonnes/year cellulose capacity
  • Target throughput is over 1.1m cubic metres of wood a month, about 13m cubic metres a year
  • Around 1,200 workers are expected once all ten harvesting modules are operational
  • Total investment in the Sucuriu pulp mill is USD 4.6bn (R$ 25bn)
  • Projected capacity is 3.5 million tonnes of pulp a year, built in a single stage
  • Arauco has secured 400,000 hectares of eucalyptus plantation to supply the mill
  • Civil works on the mill began in April 2026, with first pulp expected in the fourth quarter of 2027
  • Mato Grosso do Sul signed a service order for a 125 km gas pipeline from the Gasbol network at Tres Lagoas to the Inocencia site, budgeted at BRL 170m (USD 33m).
  • The pipeline is set to start construction in April 2026, be inaugurated in August 2027, and reach stable supply of 50,000 cubic metres a day from July 2028.
  • Arauco cites planned biomass power generation of 556 MW at Sucuriu, including 200 MW for export, versus 400 MW previously cited by the state government.
  • Construction workforce at the site is currently about 9,500, forecast to peak at 14,000.
  • The Sucuriu project reached about 70% physical completion as of September 2026.
  • Arauco manages 347,000 hectares in Mato Grosso do Sul for the project, including more than 84,000 hectares of preserved native vegetation.
  • Vibra will invest BRL 45m to build and operate an on-site fuelling station under a five-year supply contract with Arauco.
  • The Sucuriu mill represents Arauco's largest-ever investment at USD 4.6bn and marks its entry into pulp manufacturing in Brazil.
  • Planned annual capacity is 3.5 million tonnes of market cellulose in a single production stage.
  • The Sao Mateus rail bridge has reached 70% of scheduled completion, with the overall rail line 50.8% complete as of late September 2026.
  • The bridge uses about 9,000 cubic metres of concrete and 500 tonnes of steel; each of its 18 girders is about 30 metres long, 3 metres high and weighs 92 tonnes.
Suzano mentioned Arauco
Sources bandab.com.br PT ndmais.com.br PT tribunadopantanal.com.br PT jornalcruzeiro.com.br PT en.clickpetroleoegas.com.br tecnologistica.com.br PT en.clickpetroleoegas.com.br en.clickpetroleoegas.com.br iba.org PT en.clickpetroleoegas.com.br madeiratotal.com.br PT
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Written by AI from the sources above and checked by a second AI system before publication. No human wrote or edited this story. How it is made.

Updates

  • 2026-09-18 · Combined from 2 drafts about the same company
  • 2026-09-18 · Edited before publication: The 3.5m tonne capacity and the USD 4.6bn investment appear in neither source; replaced with the source's own description of the mill as Brazil's largest and the world's largest single line. The BRL 2.4bn figure covers the rail project, not the bridge alone, and the USD conversion is removed because no exchange rates were supplied. Job numbers corrected to the source spl
  • 2026-09-21 · Update: Arauco has taken delivery of a further tranche of forestry machines for the Sucuriu wood supply fleet, detailing ten planned harvesting modules with combined capacity above 1.1m cubic metres of wood a month.
  • 2026-09-21 · Update: Arauco put the Sucuriu mill's rated capacity at 3.5m tonnes of pulp a year and the wider project investment at USD 4bn (BRL 23bn), as girder lifting for the dedicated rail link continued.
  • 2026-09-22 · Update: Arauco has now received 108 of 254 forestry machines for Sucuriu, and puts total project investment at USD 4.6bn, targeting 13m cubic metres of wood a year and about 1,200 forestry workers once fully operational.
  • 2026-09-24 · Update: Arauco confirms the Sucuriu mill under construction at Inocencia carries a USD 4.6bn (R$25bn) investment and 3.5m tonne annual capacity, backed by 400,000 hectares of contracted eucalyptus plantation.
  • 2026-09-25 · Update: Mato Grosso do Sul's state government has committed BRL 170m (USD 33m) to build a 125 km gas pipeline linking the Bolivia-Brazil Gasbol network to Arauco's Sucuriu mill site, due to be inaugurated in August 2027.
  • 2026-09-25 · Update: Arauco says the Sucuriu mill is now about 70% physically complete as of September 2026, with start-up still targeted for the end of 2027.
  • 2026-09-28 · Update: Arauco has signed a five-year deal with Brazilian distributor Vibra, which will invest BRL 45m to build and run an on-site fuelling station for construction and operation of the Sucuriu mill.
  • 2026-09-29 · Update: The Sao Mateus rail bridge for Arauco's Sucuriu project is now 70% complete, with the overall 45km rail line 50.8% complete and installation of its 18 girders due to finish by end-September 2026.